The Gaming Assassin
by joker32223
Summary: Seth Corsi, a member of the Assassin Bureau, has heard rumors of the Templars going into SOA to recruit. He has been sent in to stop them.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Seth couldn't believe he was playing video games for the sake of the world. He sighed, looking at the helmet in his hand. He'd heard that the Templars were going to use the game to recruit more followers, and he had reported the rumors to his higher-ups. He never expected to be the one sent in to stop them. All of his combat training, reliving the memories of the deadliest assassin to date: Conner Kenway, to be put to use in a virtual world. Fantastic. He sighed, flicking off the lights, placing the helmet on his head, and laying back on his bed. He shut his eyes, and uttered the command words. "Link Start!" His body went slack as his brain was transported to another world. Had he stayed awake for another minute, he would have heard the Assassin banging on his door.

The rush of colors dashed by his eyes, and the machine checked that it had control over his senses. Then the character creation came up. He picked a swordsman class, silently choosing to see if the game featured tomahawks later. He gave his character features that would help him blend in with the other, mainly Japanese, players and fitted him with black pants, a white long-sleeve shirt, and black armor. He selected the submit option, and the game faded into existence. He glanced around, the translator doing a fairly decent job at translating the chatter around him. He checked the map, and started walking towards the market. He selected a fairly suitable blade, surprised to see that the game did feature tomahawks. They were extremely expensive though, to his standards anyway, so he chose a simple, slightly curved sword. He placed it in the sheath on his back and headed out to the field. He intended to grind for a bit before poking the town for information. He entered the field, and was instantly met with a boar. He drew his sword, swinging it slightly as he held his form. The boar charged, and he dodged left, then leapt back the second he could. He drove the blade into the side of the animal, and it shattered into polygons. He chuckled, swinging the sword back into its scabbard as the rewards screen came up. He'd killed his first mob, and he hadn't even needed his sword skills. This was going to be a piece of cake.

(X)

He'd been killing boars for a few hours now. As the next tusked creature shattered, he decided to head back into town. He'd made enough money for a top with a hood, which he could modify into the traditional Assassin point. He'd gone through the game's menus, determining the basics of the VRMMO. He was still wondering how high his stitching skill would have to be to make the hood, when he was teleported. He appeared back in the main town (Beginnings?) whirling around, his instincts screaming at him to run. The rest of the people there were arguing with each other, trying to figure out what was going on, while more people were still being teleported in. He tried activating Eagle Vision, which somehow worked in-game, and snorted in surprise when it deemed none of the surrounding people a threat. He'd expected a Templar or two in the crowd. He turned, and then he caught it. A tinge of red shining through the crowd. The extra sense failed him, however, just as he started pushing through the crowd towards it. He sighed, glancing around at the crowd, to see they had fallen silent. He looked to where they were all pointing, to see a flashing SYSTEM MESSAGE warning. 'The game interrupted my mission to inform us of a patch?' Seth thought, smirking slightly. The warning spread quickly across the sky, alarming several players nearby. He simply stood silent, waiting. His patience was rewarded when a giant person formed from liquid that poured from the warning dome.

"Attention, players. Welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko." Seth drew a blank. His database partner, James Monroe, hadn't gotten back to him on all the details of the game yet. "As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world. I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu." Seth's eyebrows went above his hairline. 'NO! I HADN'T!' He mentally screamed as he and a few others drew up their menus, confirming what Kayaba told them. "But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online."

'Oh, hell,' thought Seth.

"You cannot log out of Sword Art Online yourselves, and no one on the outside can shut down or remove your NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

'FUCK.'

"Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, 213 players are gone forever, from both Aincrad and the real world. As you can see," Kayaba pulled up several Internet screens, each displaying Japanese news stories. The translator helped him, and he could make out 'Video Game Deaths,' on the headline before the window was swiped away. "News stories across the world are reporting all of this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume the danger of a NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game."

'This is all so we'll beat the game?'

"But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be lost forever. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain." Seth's eyes widened as he realized that this Kayaba was completely insane. It was a calm insanity, but insanity nonetheless. "There is only one means of escape. To complete the game. You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

'This is bad. Very, very bad.'

"Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves." Seth raised an eyebrow as he opened his menu, tapping one of his 5 items. A mirror dropped into his hand, and he stared at his characters reflection. Then he was enveloped in light, and he half expected to die there and then. The light faded, though, and the reflection that looked back at him wasn't what he expected. It was him. His clean-shaven, slightly tan skin covered his flat chin, thin nose, and thin lips. His muscles showed under his shirt, toned from years of training, and he was several inches taller. "Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why? Why would Kayaba Akihiko, developer of Sword Art Online ('So that's who he is,' thought Seth) and the NerveGear, do all this? My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason… to create this world and intervene in it. And now, it is complete. This ends the official tutorial for Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players." The man melted back into the liquid, and rose back through the dome, which promptly disappeared. Seth blinked once, before realizing this wasn't a joke. He was stuck in here, no reinforcements, the game was trying to kill him, and Templars were probably here on top of all that. He turned, shoving through a crowd, and climbed the nearest building.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been a month. Seth had been trapped in this game for a month, and nothing. No Templars, no advancement in the game, and thousands had died, despite his efforts. He had made a name for himself though. The first week he'd spent countless hours leveling up his stitching and clothes making skills to fashion himself a uniform. He'd modeled it after Conner's uniform, but made it less ragged. It was now a low cut white trench coat, open at the front with a low hanging hood, combined with a black shirt, and black pants. He'd also commissioned a tomahawk, even managing to get the assassin symbol on the blade. It wasn't the strongest thing, but it got the job done. He was also famous for not needing his sword skills. His training, reflexes and battle instincts, all inherited from Conner, let him fight efficiently without needing the system's help. This caused uproar the first time he'd displayed it.

He'd been parkouring over rooftops when he'd heard screams. He'd dashed towards them, discovering some high level punks trying to exploit several player business owners. He'd dropped down from the roof, slamming into the ground and drawing attention. He'd walked straight up to the leader, and drew his tomahawk. The leader had laughed, drawing the blade on his back and activating a duel. Seth had accepted, setting it to first strike. The leader had dashed at him once he could, activating a high swinging arc sword skill. Seth had locked blades with him, trapping the sword between the axe blade and the handle.

The surprise on his face was priceless when Seth kicked the man's knee, collapsing the leg. The leader dropped to his knees, and Seth dashed behind him. He drew the small point of the symbol across the man's neck, scoring a hit, and winning the duel. The crowd was stunned. He'd just beat a level 20 in a duel without sword skills. Seth smiled at the memory. He then crouched down lower into the shadows. Apparently, the clearing team had discovered the boss room, and Seth was leveling up his hiding skill while he listened to their meeting on how to beat it.

"Okay, let's get started, people! Thank you for coming today," shouted a blue-haired avatar. He seemed to be leading the meeting. "My name is Diabel. I like to consider my 'job' as Knight." Seth chuckled along with the crowd.

"There's no job system in this game!" shouted a member of the audience.

"You should take this seriously," yelled Diabel. "Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower. We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?" The crowd murmured, but Seth stayed silent. Then the crowd began to clap and cheer. "All right! Then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six." Seth silently thought that it would be best for him to party up. Even with his training, he wouldn't last long against a boss alone. He glanced around, still in the shadows, to see friends partying up. He saw a black haired kid in a blue tunic scoot up to a figure in a hooded cloak. They were the only group left, so he left the shadows and dropped into the seat next to him. He heard their conversation before the boy noticed him.

"I just stayed out of it because everyone seemed to know each other already," said the hooded figure.

"A solo player?" asked the kid. "Then, want to form a party with me?" The figure gave a short, curt nod, and the kid maneuvered his menu. He finally noticed Seth next to him. "Whoa! Where did you come from?"

"Been here for a while, kid. I could use an invitation too," said Seth. The kid raised an eyebrow at his words, but sent one nonetheless. Seth selected the yes option, and the two people's names appeared in the corner of his display, contrasting against the inside of his hood. Kirito and Asuna. His username was no doubt on display, and one of them was soon to connect his name and outfit to the headlines. This was proved when Kirito's eyebrows shot above his hairline.

"You're-," started Kirito, when Seth's hand shot out, covering the kid's mouth.

"Yeah. I'm him. Never used a sword skill, and I'm level 36. Rather not draw attention to that right now." He released his hand, and drew his tomahawk, dragging a sharpening stone across the blade. He didn't have the money to go to a blacksmith's to sharpen it, since the blade itself took a week of work to buy. So, partly because it needed a sharpening, and partly because it was intimidating, he had to sharpen the damn thing. Kirito fell silent, and Seth grinned. "Hey. I'm sorry if that was rude, but I just want to get out of here. Can't do that if I'm being bombarded with questions." Kirito eyed him for a second, before attention returned to Diabel.

"Okay, have you formed your parties?" There was a general murmur of consent. "Then-,"

"JUST A SECOND!" came a shout from behind the audience. A figure with spiked red hair leapt down the steps, taking them several at a time. "My name's Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand who have died so far!" Seth raised an eyebrow. Having lived a life as a Native American, he understood respect for the dead. But apologizing to spirits? No way. He sensed Kirito tense up next to him.

"Kibaou, are you referring to the beta testers?" asked Diabel.

"Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared."

"Well, can you blame them?" muttered Seth. "Did you expect them to hold your hand and whisper encouragement?"

"They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us. I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise, we can't trust them to protect us as party members, and they shouldn't trust us!" Seth sensed Kirito get even tenser if that was possible, and he spared a glance at the kid. The boy had his eyes screwed shut, teeth bared, and his entire body was trembling slightly. Then a deep voice sounded from the front.

"May I speak?" All eyes shot to the front, where a dark-skinned avatar with an axe on his back rose to his feet, then walked calmly to the front. Kibaou tried to stand toe-to-toe with the guy, but the new avatar towered over him. "My name is Egil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and provide compensation. Correct?"

"Y-Yeah," stuttered Kibaou. Egil produced a small, black book from his inventory.

"You got this guide book, didn't you? It was provided for free at the item store."

"I got one," Seth murmured to Kirito. "I learned how to sew this thing from some girl who wrote an entire section on clothes making."

"Sure, I did…" responded Kibaou. "Why?"

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers."

"Seriously?" came a voice from the crowd. Kibaou got an angry look on his face as Egil turned to address the audience.

"Listen. Everyone had equal access to this information. And even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that could help us defeat the boss." Kirito seemed to relax as Egil defused the situation. Egil turned back to a pissed Kibaou. The taller stared at the shorter for a bit, before the redhead stormed off, sitting on the front row. Egil sat as well, and Diabel continued the meeting.

"All right. Then, can we resume? The latest edition of the guide book was just issued, and it contains information on the boss. According to it, the boss' name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistant known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. His attack pattern changes as well." Diabel shut the book. "This concludes the briefing. Lastly, items will be automatically distributed. EXP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. Any objections?" Seth was sure there were some, particularly from video-game-communist-Kibaou in the front, but none were voiced. "Okay. We leave tomorrow, at ten in the morning. See you there!" Seth glanced at Kirito, who was looking at Asuna, who was already leaving. The kid went after her, and Seth decided he should follow.

(X)

It was night now, and Seth had been tailing Kirito for an hour. The kid was desperately searching for Asuna. Seth decided it would be best to keep an eye on his new teammates. Kirito found Asuna sitting in an alley, eating stale bread. "Pretty tasty, huh?" asked Kirito. Asuna shot him a surprised glance. "May I sit down?" Seth grinned from the rooftops when Kirito sat, and Asuna scooted away. Achilles had taught him (Well, Conner, but same thing really) how to read people, and his training was coming in handy. He could tell Asuna was hiding something, but other than that, he couldn't get anything because he couldn't see under the hood. Kirito, however, was easy to read. The kid was obviously a beta tester, judging from his reaction to Kibaou's words at the meeting. Kibaou's words had hurt him then, and he felt somehow responsible. But, also he didn't care. If that was possible. Seth decided to get a closer look, and dropped silently behind the pair. He sat in the grass behind them, listening to them go back and forth, oblivious to his presence.

"Do you really think it's good?" asked Asuna. The voice was obviously a girl's, but he couldn't tell if Kirito recognized that.

"Of course," said Kirito, talking through a mouthful of bread. "I've been eating at least on daily, ever since arriving in this town. I do change it up a little, though."

"Change it up?" asked Asuna. Kirito produced a vial from his inventory, placing it next to him.

"Try putting some on the bread." Asuna's hand tapped the vial, and her hand started to glow. She rubbed her hand on the bread, and what Seth assumed to be butter was spread on it.

"Cream?" came Asuna's voice. Well, cream, butter. Same thing. Kirito did the same, and the bottle shattered as its durability wore out. Asuna bit into her bread, and paused for a moment before devouring the whole thing.

"It's a reward for a quest called 'The Heifer Strikes Back,' one village behind us. If you want to do it, I'll show you the trick," said Kirito. Asuna shook her head.

"I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"Then, why did you?"

"So I can still be me." Even after years of Philosophy classes with Achilles, Asuna's words still puzzled Seth. Then, she continued. "I'd rather stay myself until the very end than sit and rot away at an inn, back in the first town. Even if I get killed by a monster, I don't want to lose to this game…To this world. No matter what."

"I wouldn't want a party member dying on me…So at the least, don't die tomorrow." The two stayed silent for a long time, and Seth decided to clear the air.

"Well!" he shouted. Both of his party members jumped, and Kirito gave him a death glare.

"Someone needs to put a bell around you," said Kirito.

"Ah, but that gets rid of all the fun!" He walked over the ledge, placing himself on the ground between the two.

"Who are you anyway, who can beat players without using the system's skills?"

"I've…had a lot of training."

"SOA's system performs an attack as fast as the body can keep up with it. No simple training can match that."

"Who said it was simple? I've had YEARS of training."

"How many years?" Seth did a quick assessment.

"Let's see, Achilles started when Conner was 13, and he retired from front line combat when he was…55? And I lived his whole life, so 42 years." Kirito stared at him.

"You can't be a day over 17."

"Well, a few months, but yeah."

"42 years, and you're 17." Seth recognized the confusion and hurried to explain.

"Ever heard of an Animus?" Kirito nodded. Seth wasn't surprised. The animus was part of the hardware that inspired the NerveGear. "The unedited version allows me to gain skill through the Bleeding Effect. I gained the combat experience of a long-dead individual called Conner Kenway. 42 years as the deadliest man known to…well, man. I charged the line of British troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and won that battle single-handedly. Well, I say won, but we retreated anyway. I've had more combat experience than most martial artists put together, and Conner's favored weapon was a tomahawk, so…," Seth gestured to the weapon at his waist. Kirito was now staring at him. Even Asuna seemed interested. "What?"

"Why are you here?" asked Asuna.

"Excuse me?"

"Someone of your caliber surely wouldn't waste their time in a simple video game. So, why are you here?"

"Ah. Well, to be honest, you don't want to know. Suffice to say there are a lot of bad people in this game, who are going to try to do whatever they want. I'm here to stop them."

"But-"

"Look, kid. It's late, and we have to be at the dungeon early tomorrow. I'll see you then, alright?" Seth got up, shook hands with the boy, gave a nod to the girl, and headed through the empty town square to the nearest inn.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Seth jumped awake at 10:20. He rubbed his eyes as the visions faded, and he sat up in bed. "The nightmares are getting worse," he muttered as he went through his equipment. Last time he'd been forced to relive a bear attack, and tonight it was the burning of Conner's village. He shook his head, and the memories disappeared. He put on what little armor he had, including greaves, and padded gloves, placing his trench coat over all of it. He flipped the hood up, equipping the tomahawk on his belt, and a short sword for his back. He left the room, finding most people were already up, Kirito and Asuna included. He stopped at their table, pulling up a chair. "So what's the plan?"

"We were waiting for you," said Kirito.

"Yeah, sorry. I sleep a lot. So, we should probably discuss strategy."

"Diabel assigned our party to the Sentinels. We're to keep them off the boss' attack parties. Kirito blocks, and you and I switch in," said Kirito.

"That won't be necessary. You two work as a team, and I'll take care of the ones I can. If you have trouble, just shout." Asuna eyed him from under her hood.

"You seem cocky."

"42 years of combat experience. Dealing with a few rats with swords? It's not bravado, its skill."

Suddenly Diabel was in the room. "Alright, people. Time to head out." Seth rose from the table.

(X)

The entire team was standing outside the boss room, and Seth's brain started tuning out the short pep-talk Diabel was giving. He pulled the tomahawk from his belt, sharpening it as quickly as he could. Diabel turned, and shoved open the door, and Seth stowed the stone. The room inside slowly lit up, and Diabel and several others, including Seth, marched inside. Then, the room flooded with light, and Illfang leapt forward, landing far from the group. Sentinels spawned, all armed with pole clubs. "Commence attack!" shouted Diabel, ordering the charge. Seth sprang forward, staying silent amongst the battle cries. He met the first upward slash with a downward arc. He raised his leg, bringing it down hard on the pole, snapping the weapon. He dashed the tomahawk's top edge against the things neck, and it recoiled before the axe came down on its head. The armor crumpled, and the Kobold shattered into polygons. He heard Diabel shouting orders, but he ignored them. He took out another Kobold, and he heard Kirito praise Asuna's technique. Suddenly, the boss' health entered the red, and it changed. It threw aside both of its weapons, and pulled the long talwar from its belt. Suddenly, Diabel was ordering a retreat. He charged the creature, which was totally against his plan. They were supposed to surround the beast with all of them.

"No!" came a shout from his right. Seth saw a panicked Kirito shouting to Diabel. "Jump back as fast as you can!" Suddenly, the boss leapt into the air. It dashed around the ceiling, bouncing off of columns. Then, it was back down, pouncing on Diabel with a purple sword skill. It knocked Diabel back, then turned to the group, roaring in their faces. Kirito sprinted to Diabel's side, and Seth followed. Diabel's health was in the red, and Kirito rummaged for a healing potion. "Why did you try to do it alone?" Diabel's hand refused the potion.

"You were a beta tester, weren't you? You know what I was doing."

"You were after the last attack rare bonus item. You were a beta tester, too?"

"Yes, he was," said Seth, eyeing the man's neck. "Your plan was to lead all the people out of this game, under your leadership. You were the one with more knowledge. The one with a plan." Suddenly, Seth's hand shot out, pulling down the shirt Diabel was wearing, revealing a glittering red cross necklace. "You're a Templar."

"Yes. And you are an Assassin."

"That I am. You know what has to happen."

"But it's too late. Beat the boss. Restore peace. For everyone," muttered the blue-haired man.

"I will. But not your kind." Diabel chuckled before shattering into polygons. Kirito was stunned. Seth just turned to the Boss.

"What happens now?" he asked, still shaken up.

"We restore peace. Party F! Charge!" All three of them charged the boss, and Kirito activated a skill. He leapt forward, and so did the boss. Their blades connected, and they both bounced back. Seth was at the boss' feet, slashing at its legs, and Asuna stabbed at its torso. But it recovered, swinging the blade back down, and tearing off Asuna's cloak. It revealed a fierce looking girl with hazel eyes and chestnut hair. She recovered too, stabbing at its side with her rapier. The boss leapt at Kirito, who met it with a swing. Seth jumped at the bouncing blade, climbing on, and shimmying across, the only thing protecting his hands were his padded gloves. The boss raised the sword above its head, and Seth dropped, landing on its face and bringing the axe to its snout, using the momentum to accelerate the strike. The boss roared, and Asuna stabbed it again. Kirito blocked the next strike, but the next one wasn't so lucky. It slashed across his torso, and knocked him back into Asuna. The other parties covered them, while Seth kept slashing at its face. It suddenly leapt into the air, a slash aimed at Egil. But then, Kirito was there, deflecting the blow, and only Seth's training kept his grip.

"Asuna! Seth! One last hit! We'll do it together!"

"Rojer!" came Asuna's shout.

"On it!" Seth yelled, leaping to the left, poising his blade above the shoulder. The beast roared, then charged the pair. Kirito deflected, and Asuna stabbed. Seth's axe fell, severing Illfang's sword arm. The Kirito's blade pierced the torso of the beast, first down, then with an accompanying battle cry, back up. The strike launched Illfang into the air, and Seth leapt down before it exploded into polygons.

"WE DID IT!" came a shout from the crowd, and the entire thing exploded into jubilation. Seth flicked through his rewards screen, dimly noting his level had advanced and he'd gotten some raw materials. He went over to the kneeling Kirito, who was being complimented by Egil and Asuna. Then, it all fell apart.

"Why?" came a shout from behind the crowd. It parted to reveal a kneeling Kibaou. "Why did you let Diabel die?"

"Let him die?" asked Kirito.

"Of course!" came the reply. "You knew the technique the boss used! If you'd told us about that up front, he wouldn't have died!"

"The technique was different from the beta test," said Seth. "Diabel died because he got selfish!"

"And how do you know that?" asked Kibaou.

"He said he was a beta tester," said Kirito.

"And you knew it was different because?"

"He must be a beta tester!" came a shout. Seth started Damage control, trying to limit the unrest this statement caused, when Kirito began laughing.

"A beta tester?" asked Kirito. "I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies."

"What?" came another shout.

"Most of the thousand beta testers were beginners who didn't even know how to level up. You guys are better than they are. But I'm not like them. I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew the boss' skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us. I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker."

"That's way worse than a beta tester!" yelled Kibaou. "You're cheating! A cheater!" Echoing shouts of 'cheater' emerged from the crowd, eventually forming into 'beater', a combination of beta tester and cheater. Kirito took it in stride.

"A beater…I like it. That's right. I am a beater. From now on, don't confuse me with the other testers." Kirito began walking towards the steps to the second floor, when Asuna and Seth chased after him.

"Wait," said Asuna. Kirito's movements paused. "You called my name when we were fighting."

"Sorry for just using your first name," came the reply. "Or did I mess up the pronunciation?"

"Where did you learn it?" she asked.

"You can see 2 other HP gauges below yours, around here," Kirito gestured to the corner of his vision, "right? Isn't there something written next to it?"

"Kirito," muttered Asuna. "Corsi." Seth flinched as she used his username.

"Seth is still fine, Asuna."

"Is Kirito your name?"

"Yeah."

She giggled, holding a hand to her chin. "Oh, it's been there all this time!"

"You'll be really strong. So if someone you trust ever invites you to join a guild, don't turn them down. There's a bag limit to what you can do as a solo player."

"Then, what about you?" asked Seth. He got an alert that Kirito had just dissolved the party, and the two health bars disappeared. The doors opened for the kid, and he strolled casually through them. Seth spared a glance at the group behind them, and walked through the doors himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Skipping ahead because I like this idea. I'll go back if you want me to.**

June 25, 2024

Seth decided he needed a blacksmith. He'd been hunting Templars on floor 30, and was attacked. He'd almost dispatched of the ghouls that ambushed him, when he tried to block a strike with hidden blades he didn't have. As a result, his hand had gotten chopped off, and he'd almost died. Now, he was in the process of reconstructing Conner's knife hidden blade with the 3-D modeling software the game came equipped with. Normally, it would be used for boss room reconstruction, but now it might save his life. He also threw in the Assassin tomahawk, since the one he was currently using needed an upgrade. He left his home on floor 32, walking to the Teleport gate, and shouting "Teleport! Lindas!"

He'd heard rumors that a master Blacksmith had taken up shop here, and if anyone could make these complicated weapons, it would be them. He opened the front door, stepping inside as a bell above the door rang out. The entire back wall was covered with swords. Seth could wield a sword, but he preferred the smaller weapons he was more efficient with. He'd maxed his small weapons skill last week, and was eager to test the reward he'd gotten for doing so. Suddenly, a woman burst through the door on the back wall. "Welcome to Lisbeth's Smith Shop!" shouted a perky, pink haired girl who he assumed to be Lisbeth.

"Hello," he responded. "I need a custom weapon. Something I designed myself." The woman eyed him, and he could tell she was wondering if he had the money. This happened every time he needed a tomahawk, since they usually had to be custom made. Most blacksmiths just forged swords all day, and NPC weapons just didn't get to that standard that he had. As her eyes passed over his trench coat and minimal armor, he could tell she definitely didn't think he had the money. This was proved with her following words.

"At the moment, metal prices are high."

"Money is no object. I just need this made, and as good as you can make it."

"Well, can you show me?" Seth pulled up the modeling software, first showing her the tomahawk, then the hidden blade. "These are going to be VERY expensive."

"Again, don't worry about the money."

"Well, for something like your axe-,"

"Tomahawk," he interrupted.

"Right, tomahawk to stay stable, you'd need a very high strength-," their conversation was interrupted when a black clad figure walked in the door.

"Hey, Kirito. Haven't seen you since 49's boss fight," said Seth.

"Seth." Kirito gave Seth a nod, before turning to Lisbeth. "I need a custom-made sword. The best one you can make right now."

"Could you give me an idea on the stats that you're looking for?" Kirito removed the sword from his back, dropping it on the table.

"Something as or better than this?"

"An Elucidator? It's one of the best magic items you can get from a monster drop."

"Can you do it?" Lisbeth thought for a moment before grabbing a sword from her wall.

"It's the best I've ever made," she said, handing it to Kirito. Then she turned to Seth, before glancing back at the swinging Kirito.

"It's a little light," he said.

"I used a speed-type metal to forge it."

"May I test it a little?"

"Test it?"

"It's durability." He placed the new sword over the Elucidator, preparing to strike.

"Wait!" Lisbeth shouted. "If you do that, your sword will break!"

"If that happens, it'll just be too bad!" shouted Kirito, activating a sword skill. Lisbeth's sword swung down…and shattered upon making impact with the Elucidator. The top half flew off and disintegrated, and Lisbeth made grab for the bottom half, screaming. She eyed the damage.

"Irreparable…" she muttered, before it too shattered. Then, she rounded on Kirito. "Why did you do that?!"

"Sorry! I didn't think yours would be the one to break…"

"You're trying to tell me that my sword was weaker than you expected?" Kirito's eyes drifted away from her.

"Yeah, I guess." She knocked him away from her, then placed her hands on her hips.

"Just so we're clear, if I had the materials, I could make a dozen swords that would snap you're in half!"

"I'd like one," said Seth. Both of their eyes rounded on him, as they had both momentarily forgotten he was there. Seth grinned at their surprise. Once you had maxed out your hiding skill, not even player scan could find you, and even when you weren't hiding, it was like you had a perception filter from Doctor Who. That is to say, people almost seemed like they didn't want to notice you. "At least, as one of the items I showed you."

"I'd like one too," said Kirito.

"Then you'll both have to help me every step of the way!"

"Every step?" asked Seth.

"Yes. Starting with obtaining the metal."

"I've got that," said Seth, drawing his tomahawk. "I'd rather not have both of you slowing me down."

"Don't you insult me," muttered Lisbeth. "Believe it or not, I'm an expert mace user."

"Fine, then. Where to?"

"Floor 55. Western Mountain. There's supposedly a dragon that eats crystals. According to rumor, it builds up a rare metal in its body."

"Floor 55, huh?" asked Kirito. "I should probably go alone-,"

"Kirito, we both know I can more than handle myself," said Seth.

"And! To get the metal, you need a master smith with you. Still want to leave me here?" Kirito sighed, putting the sword back on his back, and Seth replaced his tomahawk, eyeing the girl. She had sass, he had to give her that.

"Both of you, just keep quiet, and stay out of the way."

"Oh, we both know I can't stay quiet unless I'm hunting," said Seth.

"So, until I make those weapons, we better party up," said Lisbeth.

"Guess so," said Kirito.

"You're being really cold," said Seth.

"Not as cold as where we're going."

(X)

Kirito was right. The Western Mountain was COLD, but Seth's cloak was covered on the inside with animal fur, so it didn't bother him. As Seth trudged up the mountain, he eyed Kirito in front of him. Despite him not having any winter clothing, the weather didn't seem to be effecting him. Lisbeth, however, was freezing. Seth wasn't surprised, she was still wearing the thin uniform from her shop. He usually sold any clothing or fabric he picked up, so he didn't know what to do. He eventually shrugged off the cloak, and handed it to her. He was only wearing a black shirt and pants under it, so he instantly started shivering, but he didn't care. Her eyes lingered on him, before accepting the coat, and putting it on. Almost immediately, she stopped shivering, but her eyes didn't leave him. They approached the top of the mountain, and Kirito turned to them, noting the change in wardrobe but saying nothing. "Alright. I'm going to take care of the dragon, Seth, you do your hiding thing to conceal the both of you."

"Why do you get to have all the fun?"

"Shut up." Seth chuckled, leading Lisbeth over to the crystal walls. He ducked behind one, before ducking into the shadows. He instantly disappeared in Lisbeth's vision, and she sounded impressed.

"So, what do I do?"

"Well, for one thing, I'll need my cloak back," Seth replied, standing up. She reluctantly handed the coat back, and he shoved his arms through it. He held open the sides of the coat, gesturing for her to get closer. "Yeah, it's awkward, but you'll get spotted otherwise." She reluctantly walked next to him, and the coat fell over her, covering her, and he kneeled back into the shadows. "We're good, Kirito." The kid nodded, and turned to face the dragon as it crawled out of its cave. Kirito stood still, sword ready as the dragon prepared to attack. First, it breathed its ice breath at him.

"Dodge!" came Lisbeth's voice, and Seth placed a hand over her mouth.

"It can still hear us," he hissed, turning attention back to Kirito, who hadn't moved. He'd activated a skill, and then used it to deflect the attack. As he watched Kirito do his thing, he couldn't help but linger on Lisbeth's warmth. She was pressed up against his body, and it was extremely distracting. He hadn't had any time for a relationship in the real life, with his training at the Farm and all, and his technician in the Animus skipped over any bit of Conner's life that he'd been intimate with his later wife. So, he had no idea what to do. This was solved when Lisbeth left the shadows.

"Alright, then. Finish it!"

"LIZ! Get back here!" shouted Seth. But it was too late. The dragon saw her, and flapped its enormous wings in their direction. The gust caused an avalanche, and Seth barely had time to run out and grab her before they were both swept over a chasm. "Shit!" shouted Seth. He kept his grip on the girls arm, trying to maneuver to the side. He used the air to push him towards the wall, and unhooked the tomahawk. He dug the blade into the wall, and it caught on a rock. Their descent stopped instantly, and Seth's strength factor kept them aloft. "Well. That worked." Then he saw a shadow appear at the entrance to the chasm. Kirito. "That idiot!" Seth yelled, swung Liz back and she grabbed Kirito's hand. They would have all stayed there. If the durability on the tomahawk was meant to hold 3 people up. It wasn't. The axe shattered, and they all fell. Liz instinctively let go of Kirito's hand, causing him to fall, and Seth spun the girl, putting her above him. He slammed into the ground, and she slammed into him. He passed out.

(X)

His vision faded in and out, and he saw a girl. But it wasn't Liz. It was his mother. Actually it was Conner's mother, but in his mind, it was HIS mother. Then the vision was gone, and the inside of the chasm faded into place. Liz was still passed out on his chest, and his health was very far into the red, but he was alive. And so was Kirito, evidenced when a health potion hit the top of his head. "Here."

"Hello to you too, sunshine. Where are we?"

"Bottom of the chasm."

"Well, I figured that. How do we get out?"

"I don't know. The crystals don't work here."

"Wonderful." Liz stirred, first nuzzling her head nearer to his, then, perhaps realizing where she was, she leapt off of him. Seth was struggling to contain a laugh at the look on her face.

"How long-,"

"Couple of minutes. At least that's how long I've been up. It's almost dark, so probably longer."

"And you don't care?"

"Believe me, worse things have happened then passing out with a cute girl. But now, if we get out of this, I definitely need a new tomahawk." Seth retrieved the health potion from above his head and tossed it to her. He then drew his own out of his inventory, and sat up as he sipped on it. He eyed the walls, finding a path through the rocks. "So, Kirito. I can probably climb out of here, but I'm not leaving you guys here. So what's your plan?"

"I'm going to try to run up the wall."

"Knock yourself out," said Seth, lying back on the snow. Then his head hit something hard under the snow. "What the…?" He dug under the frozen water, to find blue rocks. The entire floor was covered in the stuff. "Hey, Liz. What is this stuff?" The girl walked over, then crouched down and tapped it. Then she gasped.

"Crystallite Ingot? This is the metal we came for!"

"Well, yay for us. How did it get…?" Then he thought for a moment. "You said the metal builds up in the dragon's stomach?"

"Yeah."

"Then this is its poop." Liz glanced at the metal, before tossing it at him in disgust. Seth caught it, grabbed a few more and stowed them in his inventory. By this time, Kirito had finished his run-up and was now sprinting up the wall. Seth's eyes followed him, watched him slip on a rock, and followed his body as it fell back to the ground. "Well. That didn't work. Should we make camp?" Kirito didn't speak, instead conjuring several sleeping bags from his inventory. Seth grabbed two, and gave one to Liz. He put one next to Kirito, then grabbed one for himself. He put it on the ground, and got in it. He shut his eyes, only to open them when he sensed a presence. His eyes flew open to see a pink headed face staring at them. For some reason Liz had decided to sleep next to him. He shut his eyes again, listening to Kirito's snores.

"Why did you help me?" came Liz's voice.

"Hmm?" Seth opened his eyes.

"You saved me from falling the pit, when you easily could have let me die. Why?"

Seth stayed silent for a moment. It wasn't really a personal question, but it brought up bad memories. "I've taken lives. But sitting by, and watching someone die? Knowing you could have done something, but chose not to? That's just cruel."

"You're an idiot."

"What?"

"You'd sacrifice yourself to save someone you barely know?"

"Wouldn't you?" The girl's expression changed with the retort, and her eyes closed. She pulled the edge of the sleeping bag over her head. But Seth's high listening skill could make out muffled deliberation. "So she talks to herself. Great. Someone just as crazy as me," muttered Seth. He shut his eyes, and was about to drift off.

"Would you…hold my hand?" asked Liz.

Seth's eyes opened, to see Liz's right hand had extended from the sleeping bag, along with her head, and was pointed at him. He was slightly surprised, but it didn't show when his left arm left the warmth of the bag. Their hands touched, first him just laying his hand over hers, then their palms met, and then the fingers intertwined. It was a strange feeling, warmth radiating on one side, freezing snow and cold air on the other. But it was a good feeling. It was that feeling that lulled Seth to sleep.

(X)

Seth jerked awake to a dragon's roar. "Tell me we're not getting eaten."

"We're not getting eaten," came Kirito's response. Apparently he was already up, and so was Lisabeth.

"Joy. So what's going on?"

"Well, you found the dragon's poop, and it's nocturnal. Dragon's coming home."

"Yay. Got a plan?"

"I think I'm just going to wing it. Wait. Get on its back."

"Hehe. Wing it."

"Shut up." The dragon roared, and plunged into the cave. Seth melted into its shadow, pulling Liz under his coat. When he was behind it, he leapt onto its back, in synchronous timing with Kirito, who jumped on from a wall jump, plunging his sword into the dragon. The dragon roared, then soared up. Seth clung to the dragons back with one hand, and Liz's hand with the other.

"Whaaa!" shouted the girl, as the dragon stopped it's ascent with a spread of its wings, flinging the two boys and the girl off its back. Seth kept his hand in Liz's and Kirito soared through the air beside them. "Hey!"

"What?"

"I like you!" Seth's hearing easily picked up the words over the roaring wind. But he still wasn't sure if the game wasn't playing a cruel trick on him.

"What?" Liz pulled him in for a hug.

"It's nothing," she said in his ear. He grinned.

(X)

Back in the shop, Seth was leaning against the wall as Liz made Kirito's sword. The resounding pang of metal on metal echoed throughout his mind as he thought about last night. What did that make them? What did Liz mean, I like you? Did she mean as a friend, or…

His thoughts were interrupted when the ingot began glowing. It spread out, taking the shape of a long, one-handed sword. It was mainly blue, and Liz read out its name. "Dark Repulser. Never heard of it, so it's not in the directories…" Kirito picked it up, and swung it around.

"It's a good blade. A very good blade." He set the sword back in its sheath. "How much?"

"No charge." Kirito started to protest. "In exchange, I become your exclusive smith. You come to me for equipment fixes and upgrades at the end of every day." They smiled at each other, and Seth's heart didn't think it could take many more mixed messages. Thankfully, he got a distraction in the shape of Asuna bursting through the door, and trapping Liz in a hug.

"LIZ! WHERE WERE YOU! I COULDN'T TRACK YOU, OR MESSAGE YOU!"

"I went to a dungeon."

"A dungeon? Alone?"

"No, I went with these two." Liz gestured to Kirito and Seth. Kirito stuttered out a greeting, but Seth just waved from the corner. Asuna spied Liz's eyes lingering on Seth, and immediately rounded on him.

"You didn't do anything weird to my friend, did you?"

"Hey, Kirito's the one who broke her best sword." Asuna's eyes widened at this piece of news, and the both of them rounded on Kirito, joking, pestering, and laughing. Seth's eyes wandered from an embarrassed Kirito to Liz, who was grabbing some stuff and moving to exit.

"Hey, where are you going?" asked Asuna.

"Oh, just to get some materials for Seth's weapons. Back in a bit."

"Who's going to watch the shop?"

"You three watch it." She turned, and exited the shop. Kirito and Asuna shared a look, then they both looked at Seth. But he was already gone.

(X)

Seth found Liz crying by a river. "Hey." Liz straitened her back, sparing a glance at Seth.

"You're not supposed to be here. Another minute, and I would have returned to my normal, cheery self, but…"

"I don't care if you can't stay cheery. I want to know what made you sad."

"Why?"

"So I know who to stab in the face." Liz chuckled, then patted the spot next to her. Seth sat, then turned his head to her. "So. What's wrong?"

"You. You and Asuna clicked so well together back there, and I thought…." Seth instantly got the problem.

"Asuna and I aren't a couple. Now, Kirito and Asuna, they're a different subject. But me? Asuna's not my type."

"What is your type?"

"Cute. Blacksmith. Pink hair." Suddenly, Liz tensed. Instantly, Seth tried to recover. "I mean, if you don't-," Seth was interrupted when Liz's lips met his. At first, he didn't know what the sudden warmth at his face was. Then, when he realized it, he relaxed. He knew this wasn't real. He knew that the real Liz was probably somewhere halfway across the world, lying comatose in some hospital or another. He knew that he was doing the same. But he didn't care. He just melted into her warmth. Then, she was gone.

"Well. Can't do that all day. I've got some blades to make." Seth grinned.

"Let's head back then."

(X)

After a few minutes, Liz finally got the blacksmithing software to understand she wanted the finished project to look exactly like the 3-D model. After several minutes of hammering, the ingot flattened, and started to glow. Then, the light faded, and the Knife Hidden Blade took its place. Seth expected it to have some outrageous name. What he didn't expect was what happened.

"It's called, 'The Hidden Blade.'"

"What?"

"Yeah, I know. Usually they don't have 'The' in the name, but-,"

"No, that's not it. That's what this is called in real life, a hidden blade. Someone on the developing team knew about these, and made sure any replica would be named 'The Hidden Blade.' Which meant he knew I was coming. Which is very, very bad."

"How so?"

"I promise I'll explain later. Can we make the tomahawk now?" Sure enough, after a few hits, the ingot transformed into a bluer version of Conner's tomahawk. And that's what its name was. Conner's Tomahawk. This. Was. BAD.

**Authors Note: Subtract one from Kirito's harem, and Add one to the Templar conspiracies list.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Seth walked into Liz's shop, lowering his hood as the door swung open. "Liz? We've got a problem!" Liz poked her head out of the forge.

"What now?"

"I've confirmed that Kiboau, one of the Army generals, had been inducted into the Templar order."

After the dragon quest, Liz had offered Seth a deal. If he helped her get rare materials when she needed them, he could take the spare room above the shop. He'd accepted, since the Army's reach had expanded to the 31st floor, and he didn't want them knocking on his door for taxes, or whatever they harassed people for. After a week, he'd been coming back from the field, when he was ambushed by bandits sent by the Templars. He'd fought them off, but ran out of healing items, sustained heavy damage, and was poisoned. He'd staggered into Liz's shop, meeting her quickly falling smile with something between a grimace and a smile. Then he'd passed out.

He'd woken up to find his health had been half-restored, he'd been moved to his room, and he could see Liz frantically scanning her inventory for more healing items. "Hey."

Liz had glanced at him, and noted that he was awake. "Good." Then she marched over and slapped him in the face.

"Ow."

"Now. You tell me why I had to spend the last 10 minutes trying to save my boyfriend's life!" Her face went from rage and fear to surprise in a split second. Even Seth was stunned. 'Well. That's new,' he'd thought as her face went back to anger. Then the rage gave way to something else. Concern? She'd actually been scared that he was going to die?

He told her everything. He told her of the Assassins and the Templars, and how he was a part of the former. The look in her eyes urged him on, and he continued into his days at the Farm. Of Conner. Of the rumors he'd been sent in to investigate. He'd expected fear, anger, disgust, an immediate dismissal from her home. He hadn't expected a request.

"Can I help?"

"Excuse me?"

"I want to help you."

"You're sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's dangerous. Look at me, I've got 42 years of combat training, and I got my ass kicked."

"I. Want. To. Help."

"Fine. Make another one of these," he gestured to the hidden blade on his left wrist, "and I'll test you."

As it turned out, Lisbeth was better at strategy than he was. Where he saw an opportunity to charge, she saw opportunities to climb up and attack the target from above. He trained her as well as he could in lessons of climbing and blending in. Soon, she'd earned the assassin cloak, and he made it for her. It was a white trench coat like his, but with pink accents. Several months later, the clearing guild had beaten the 73rd boss. But today, Seth had left to gather information, when he heard that the 74th boss had been beaten almost singlehandedly by a duel wielding Kirito. Unfortunately, he'd gained several other pieces of information as well.

"But you knew that already, so that can't be the bad news."

"You're right. I snuck into a Templar meeting on 54, and guess who I found?"

"Wha? You went without me?"

"Yes. After your stunt with the bandits on 67, everyone knows your costume. Couldn't have you drawing attention. Now, guess who I found."

"Kiboau?"

"Well yes. But Heathcliff was there, too." Liz stared at him hard, searching for any hint of a lie.

"What are they planning?"

"Kiboau is going to use his power to prevent anyone under the Army's influence from leaving the lower levels. They don't deem them useful for anything other than taxes, so they plan to trap them on the lower floors. But that's nothing to what Heathcliff proposed. HE wants to force the players trapped on the lower levels to constantly complete quests that they have access to, and send the Col to the Knights of the Blood Oath."

"You're sure?"

"I watched him say it himself."

"Well. Let's take out Kiboau first."

"That's what I was planning. Grab your coat." Liz grinned, then Seth held up his hand, motioning for her to pause. "Do we have any smoke bombs?"

(X)

Seth and Liz were crouching on top of the hill in front of the castle where the army made their base. "Alright. Seth, you charge the line," said Liz, gesturing to the line of spearmen set up outside the base. "Keep attacking until Kibaou comes out, and then I'll take him out."

"You're sure?" This would be her first kill, and he wasn't sure if she could handle it. She scoffed.

"What? You think I can't do it?"

"Oh, I know you can do it. But you haven't killed anyone, correct?" Liz reluctantly nodded. "When I went into the Bureau for my first target, I was an eager kid with a knife, ready to protect the world from the Templars. I haven't seen that kid for 4 years. 2 people die when you take a life. The person you kill, and the person you used to be."

Liz seemed a bit frazzled by his story, but tried to shake it off. "I'm sure I'll be-," Seth grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"I LIKE the person you are. Don't let her die." Liz gave a weak smile, and Seth nodded, pulling up her hood, and flipping up his own. "Let's do this."

(X)

Seth walked to the line. When he was a hundred meters from the line, he was ordered to halt. He ignored the warning, keeping an eye on the white and pink figure creeping across the hill. He HAD to keep attention off of her. He checked that the ring he'd achieved on floor 30. It added a paralysis affect to anything hit by any weapon he was holding. Hopefully it would cause enough chaos, and there would only be one dea-

Suddenly, the scene changed. The line in front of him was wearing the red uniform of British troops. He looked beside him, and a group of American soldiers was firing on the British. His mindset changed to that of Conner's and he was no longer in control of what he was seeing. Seth sprinted forward, taking a running leap over the front line. The lead troops struggled to turn, as he assaulted the few behind them. He grabbed the rifle that tried to hit him in the face, jerking out of the arms holding it. He pulled the trigger, discharging the weapon into the ground, then spun, slamming the rifle away that tried to hit him with its bayonet. He kept spinning, raising the rifle and hitting the solider in the head. He grabbed the rifle that tried to stab him, turning it and hitting the face that held it sideways. He spun the rifle more, stabbing the bayonet into the man, and pulling the trigger. The bullet passed through, but missed the guy behind him. He kept the gun, passing the bayonet through the torso of the man behind him. Then he grabbed the limp figure, and used it to block the bayonet behind them.

He ran forward, drawing the tomahawk at his belt and extending his hidden blade. He dodged several bayonet stabs, deflecting one up with the axe, and slashed the blade across the guy's throat. Again, he deflected the next stab up, and slashed across the man's side with the knife. He spun around a single charge, stabbing the blade into an inner shoulder, then spinning back, slashing through the man's head with his axe. The debris from a cannon shot cleared, revealing his target. A British General, riding on a horse, stared at him, disgust on his face. Seth dashed to the right, leaping of a rising rifle and landing on the horse. He slammed the axe down at his head, but the general leapt off the horse, and the axe just clipped the arm. The general landed on the ground, wounded but standing, and swung at him with his sword. Seth caught the blade with his tomahawk, raising it a little, and dashed into the opening. He dragged the blade across the torso, before rising on the other side of his arm and stabbing the blade into his elbow. The general screamed, and dropped the sword. Seth kicked him hard in the thigh, and the man collapsed, desperately trying to protect several wounded areas at once. Seth crouched over him, shoving aside his coat with the axe blade, and revealed the Templar Cross on a necklace. The look of shock on the General's face as he brought the axe down was the last thing he saw as the vision faded.

He was back in SOA. The General's expression hadn't changed, just morphed into Kibaou's face. "Why?" sputtered out Kibaou.

"You are a Templar. I'm an Assassin. Didn't they tell you I'd be hunting you?"

"You'll never get away with this."

"I already have." Seth pried the tomahawk from his chest, and brought it back down. Kibaou's health zeroed out, and he shattered into polygons. Seth's chest heaved as he gasped for breath. He suddenly felt exhausted. He turned, and took in the mayhem. Everything had happened, just as he'd seen it. He'd torn through the troops. But even now, they were regrouping, and Seth raised his guard. Suddenly, a white and pink something dropped from the edge of the castle.

"EVERYBODY FREEZE!" shouted Liz. The troops hesitated, but Seth didn't lower his guard. "Yes! Corsi just killed Kibaou. But do you know why? Do you know what he was planning to do? He was going to order you to blockade the lower floors! Trap your friends and family here, to be exploited! And just like good little solders, you would have done it! This is a plot, formed by people bigger than any of us. And we are the only two people who fight them! Even if you still want to kill us, do you really think you could?" Seth had to admire her speaking skills, but evidently it wasn't enough. The crowd was still restless, and several were gripping their weapons tightly. Seth stealthily retracted his knife and pulled a smoke bomb from his belt. He crouched down, pretending to put his axe on the ground, then rolled the bomb across the ground. It exploded, covering the area with smoke. The entire crowd was coughing, and swinging randomly. Seth grabbed Liz around the waist, hoisting her up, and sprinting off.

(X)

Seth teleported the second he was out of hearing distance, shoving one in Liz's hand and shouting the command. "Teleport! Lindas!" Both of the crystals were tied to his voice, so they teleported the one holding them to Lindas. They both appeared in the town square, a few hundred feet from Liz's shop. Seth began walking towards it, but noticed Liz hadn't moved. "Something up?" He checked his display. She'd taken heavy damage from the fall, but hadn't let it show till now. She staggered, falling into Seth's arms. Seth lifted her up, and started carrying her to the shop.

"How did you do that?"

"What?"

"The way you fought…It was almost like you weren't actually seeing it. You dodged attacks that didn't exist, and tanked attacks it looked like you couldn't see."

"It's the Bleeding Effect. I lived 73 years in a few days, and no one's meant to do that. Conner's mind, thoughts, and memories are swimming around in my head. And sometimes," he backed into the front door, and walked up the steps, "his memories swarm my vision. I fought what I saw. Nothing more."

"That's…Weird."

"I know." He put her down in her bed and dug in his inventory for a health potion. He placed it by her head, then conjured his own. He gulped it down, and made sure Liz drank hers. "You did well today. I never could have come up with that speech."

"Yeah, well. It took a lot out of me."

"What do you mean?"

"I feel like shit."

"Ah. Well, you might be sick."

"There's no sickness in this game."

"But there's sickness in the real world. You're just feeling the effects. It happened to me after 12's boss fight. I was bedridden for days."

"I thought the NerveGear blocked the signals from your body."

"But the bug is going to eat away at your mental stamina. That groggy feeling you get when you're sick? You're getting just that, without all the other side effects."

"Well I guess that makes sense. You go. I'll be fine here."

"Nonsense. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let my girlfriend be sick on her own?"

"But Heathcliff-,"

"Templars can wait." Seth didn't think he'd ever said that. "Now, what do you want to eat?"

"You can cook?"

"Not well. But I can make something in a pinch."

"Chef's choice, then." Seth grinned, kissed her forehead, and then tucked her in. He walked out and shut the door. Time to get to work. He walked to an NPC shop that was still open (It was almost the dead of night) and bought a pumpkin, spice dust, bone meal, and garden fairy essence. The last one was a bit expensive, but it was worth it to make garlic powder. He took those items back to the shop, carving up the pumpkin in the forge. He chopped off the top and scooped out the seeds. He set the grimy seeds in the sink, setting the orange husk back in his inventory. He pulled out some butter, salt, and his purchases from his inventory. He mixed the purchases as he washed the orange grime off the seeds, and spread the seeds in a pan. He spread butter over the seeds, and slid the pan into the forge's flame. After a few minutes, he pulled out the roasted seeds, spreading the salt and garlic powder over them. He let them cool, then popped one in his mouth. He grinned. Delicious. He put all the seeds in a jar, and walked back to Liz's room, seeds in hand.

"And here we have roasted pumpkin seeds, with butter, salt, and garlic powder." Liz gave him a lazy, strange look from under the covers.

"Pumpkin seeds?"

"Hey, my mom used to make these. She used to give me one for every dummy I managed to kill. Try one!" He pulled one out of the jar, and held it out. Her head poked out from the bed, trapping the seed in her teeth. She retreated under the blankets, chewing on the food as her eyes lit up.

"This. Is. Delicious."

"What? Did you think I was lying? You can thank Asuna for the garlic powder, that girl knows how to make anything," said Seth, popping another in his mouth. He held out another one, and a pink-haired head poked out to grab it. They stayed like that all night, swapping stories and eating spiced pumpkin seeds.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Seth looked Liz in the face. "Absolutely not."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because Heathcliff says this is the hardest boss they've ever encountered. Once you go in, the doors shut, it's a null-crystal zone, and all the scouting parties they've sent in have disappeared!"

"So what?"

"Because if I lose you…" He let the sentence trail off. They'd spent the past few weeks together, her recovering from her sickness, and him entertaining. "What's your name?"

"Lis-,"

"Your REAL name."

"R-Rika. Shinozaki Rika."

"Hello Shinozaki. I'm Seth Corsi. When we get out of this game, I will find you again. I can't do that if you die here."

"And how do you think I'll feel? If you go out there, and never come back?"

"Hey. That's not going to happen."

"Then why won't you let me go?"

"Because. I plan to kill Heathcliff after the battle. I want you safe here, not completely caught up in the backlash."

"How do you know he's-"

"Because Kirito told me about his trip to Beginnings. The people are already being forced to complete quests for them. Heathcliff dies today." Liz glared at him, debating whether or not to prolong the argument. Seth kept his face calm, staring back into her pink eyes.

"You WILL make it back. You understand me?"

"Yes ma'am. And then we'll make pumpkin seeds. Alright?" The fight left her eyes.

"Pumpkin seeds." Seth grinned, hugging her and kissing her forehead.

Seth left the shop, meeting up with Kirito and Asuna at the teleport gate. "Where's Liz?" asked Asuna.

"She's still not feeling well. So, she's going to sit this one out." They both nodded, stepping into the gate and teleporting to the 75th floor. Seth glanced around, and followed.

(X)

They all met at the Yurinia Teleport Gate. The crowd eyed Kirito and Asuna, but most glared at Seth. While Kibaou hadn't been a popular leader, killing him had led to some hatred Seth's way. The five leaders of the Knights of the Blood Oath teleported in behind him, marching to the corridor. It was a teleport that allowed multiple people through, and Heathcliff activated it. Multiple people walked in, and Seth followed. There were mutterings among the crowd, but otherwise it was eerily silent. Heathcliff started a pep-talk, and there was a roar of approval, but Seth was staring at a picture of Liz he'd taken from her house. "I'll make it back." He stowed the picture as the doors opened, and pulled his tomahawk out of its sheath. He flicked his wrist, and the knife appeared in his hand. He followed through the open doors.

The boss room was dark, and had a central table that they all stood on. The room was unbelievably large, and no boss was to be seen. Suddenly, the doors slammed shut behind them, and it got even darker. Seth activated his night vision skill (something you achieve by ninety-presenting the hiding skill) and saw nothing. Then he heard movement. It was a crackling sound…and it was-

"ABOVE US!" shouted Asuna. They all looked up, and what they saw was horrifying. A millipede made of bones was clinging to the ceiling, with the name 'The Skull Reaper.'

"Don't stay together! Stay away from it!" shouted Heathcliff, but several charged the beast as it dropped, and its legs shot out, hitting the fools, and depleting their health bars instantly. Seth made a very loud mental note not to get hit. The Reaper charged a defenseless player, and Heathcliff locked his shield. The two collided, and Heathcliff held fast. Seth took the opportunity to doge between its many legs, hacking away with his tomahawk. Then, it was gone, spiraling up along the wall. The thing was incredibly fast, and had high attack. According to the rules of gaming, that meant it was lacking in one thing: Defense. Skill sets are usually set up in threes. You can be mediocre in Speed, attack and defense, or you can sacrifice one to level up the other two. Seth had chosen a style similar to the boss, sacrificing armor for swift movement. 'That might just save my life,' he thought, dodging an attack. Kirito and Asuna quickly figured out they could block together, and Seth charged in for an attack, swiftly striking at its vulnerable underbelly. He then leapt up, with Heathcliff, Kirito and Asuna blocking its scythes, onto the things back, hacking away at its spine.

After what seemed like hours of attacking, blocking and switching, its health was finally in the red. Seth ran up the spine, attacking the eyes while Heathcliff locked his shield with its scythes. Heathcliff gave the order to attack, and Seth stabbed. The thing reared up, and he dropped as the boss disintegrated. He'd slammed into the ground, dimly noting the congratulations message. All he could think about was the 14 who'd died. He'd counted. He listened to the murmurs within the crowd, debating whether they could reach the top. But he didn't care. All that mattered was killing Heathcliff. But then he had second thoughts. Heathcliff's unique skill was the only reason they were all standing there, Seth had no doubt about that. And he still had 25 floors left to kill him. No, getting out of the game was a priority. Higher than Templars. He'd just decided to spare him, when Kirito attacked.

Kirito soared towards Heathcliff, faster than lightning. He stabbed at the face….and it was blocked. Not by the shield, but by the system. A purple warning 'Immortal Object' popped up. "The system ensures his HP will never fall into the yellow zone. Something has always bothered me, ever since I arrived here. Where does he hide while he watches us and adjusts the world? But I'd forgotten a simple piece of psychology. Something any kid knows. There's nothing as boring as watching someone else play an RPG. Isn't that right, Kayaba Akihiko?" Seth's eyes widened.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me how you figured it out?"

"The first time I felt something was wrong was during the duel. In that last instant, you were far too fast."

"I suspected as much. That was an unfortunate mistake. You overpowered me to the point that I needed to engage the system's over-assist mode. Yes, I am Kayaba Akihiko. And if I may add, I am the game's final boss, who would have awaited you at the top floor."

"That's pretty bad," said Kirito. "The strongest player betrays us to become the last boss?"

"Not a bad storyline, is it? I always thought that you would be the one to stand before me at the end. Duel-wielding is the skill given to the player with the fastest reaction time, who will then act out the part of the Hero that challenges the Demon King. But your power exceeded my expectations. Well, these unexpected events are part of the fun of an MMORPG."

"Our loyalty…Our hope…" muttered one of Kayaba's followers. "How dare you?" he screamed, lunging at him. Kayaba flicked his menu open and tapped something. The man fell in midair, a paralysis affect appearing next to his health bar. Seth melted into the many shadows in the room, but he too collapsed with a tap of Kayaba's menu. Everyone was soon down on the ground except for Kirito and Kayaba.

"What are you going to do?" asked Kirito. "Kill us all, and cover it up?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't do anything so unfair. Very well, then…I shall await you on the top floor, within the Ruby Palace. I put a lot of time developing the Knights of the Blood Oath and the other front-line players. So it's a shame I have to leave them partway. However, I'm sure that with your power, you'll reach me eventually. But first…Kirito, I must reward you for deducing my identity. I shall give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"The chance to fight me one-on-one. Naturally, I'll deactivate my immortal status. Defeat me, and you beat the game. And all the players will be able to log out. How about it?"

"That's fine. Let's finish this." He and Asuna had a quiet conversation, him still slightly holding her up. Kirito placed her down slowly, before talking to a few others. "I have a request. I don't plan on losing, but if I die here, I want you to make sure Asuna can't kill herself, just for a little while." Seth raised an eyebrow as Kayaba agreed.

Kirito dashed forward, attacking faster than most people could process. But Kayaba hid behind his shield, offering counter-attacks every once in a while. Then, the edge of Kirito's sword broke on Kayaba's shield. The point snapped off, spiraling into oblivion. This left Kirito open to attack…which Asuna blocked with her body. She stepped in front of the blade, and it sliced through her. Her health bar disappeared, and she gave Kirito a small smile before disappearing. Kirito grabbed at her polygons like a child chasing butterflies, before falling to the ground, sobbing. Kayaba made an arrogant comment about neutralizing paralysis, and Seth vowed that if Kirito died, Seth would split the man's head open himself. Then, Kirito got back up, making feeble swings with the Elucidator and Asuana's blade. Kayaba sighed, before knocking the blade out of his hand. Then, Kayaba's sword entered his body. Kirito was run through, the blade coming out his back. Kirito's health bar quickly depleted, and disappeared, then he died. Then he formed again. Seth saw Klien manipulate his menu, pulling up an item, and it shattered as Kirito reformed. 'A revive item?' thought Seth, as he watched Kirito, now a ghostly image, step closer. Gripping Asuna's sword tightly, Kirito stabbed Kayaba through the chest. Then, they both died.

(X)

Seth woke up in a hospital bed. The last thing he saw was the bright light from the shattering Kirito and Kayaba. Then, he was in a hospital, with his snoring mentor, Frank, beside him. His throat burned as he took his first purposeful breath in 2 years. "Liz," his croaky voice squeaked out. He tried to sit up, and his emaciated body somehow obeyed him. He disconnected the wires that plugged into him, and sat up. The constant drone from the machine woke up Frank, who jumped up in a panic, then relaxed when he saw Seth was alive.

"Is it over?"

Seth smiled, his head lifting as he addressed his mentor. "All Templar threats in the VRMMORPG Sword Art Online have been eliminated. I would like to request immediate access to an animus, and transferal to the Japanese Bureau, effective immediately."

**Authors Note: I HAVE MORE. PROMISE. IF ANYONE'S READING THIS. Also, if you care about technicalities, I assume you can learn languages through an Animus like in the Matrix.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Switching to Seth's first person perspective. Also, LONGEST GODDAMN CHAPTER OF MY FANFIC CAREER!**

Well, I got my animus. I loaded up the Japanese program, and learned the entire language in an hour. My head was swimming with symbols for DAYS. My transfer, however…that took longer. I had to go through physical rehabilitation before being returned to the field, and I had to be field ready to go to Japan. I thought this was fair. Until I learned that rehabilitation was going to take three months. As I remembered those grueling weeks of learning to walk on my own again, I shuddered. My seat parent jostled next to me, and I stopped. After all, it's unwise to make enemies on an 11 and a half hour flight. I'd been moved from the Salt Lake City hospital to the airport, and gotten on a flight to Tokyo. I was supposed to go straight from the airport to the Bureau, but I was definitely going to the hospital I'd found that Rika was placed during SOA first. She hadn't left yet, and technically, I shouldn't be out of the hospital either. Luckily for me, my mother visited me often during my rehabilitation, and brought pumpkin seeds. Every time. So I'd have a lot to share with Rika when I saw her for real. I have to say, the real ones taste WAY better than the digital ones.

After the endless flight, I headed to the hospital, messenger bag with all my possessions on my back, and jar of seeds in hand. I must have been a weird sight, a stark white guy, walking down the street with seeds and a pack. But I didn't care. I walked in the lobby, and told the nurse I was here to see Shinozaki Rika. She gave me a solemn look that I didn't understand until I was in the room. I burst in the door, a few seeds in hand, and froze. She was in bed, asleep, NERVEGEAR STILL ON HER GODDAMN HEAD! I didn't know what was going on. I panicked. I ran back out, checking the room number. I studied her face, and other than her hair actually being brown, it was still the same one I'd come to…Nevermind. I asked the nurse what had happened, why she still had the NerveGear on. She told me something that took a while to process. While most of the victims of SOA had been released, 300 never woke up. Rika was one of them. I asked for a full list, and she said there was one on the internet. I powered up my laptop, checking the list. No one else that I recognized was on it…until I saw Asuna's name. I instantly searched the internet for Kirito. If she was still asleep, that guy would do anything to get her out.

After checking with the Beurau, who apparently had nothing for me until I was back to full strength, I rented a bike and traveled to Kirito's house. For the record, I kept calling him Kirito. Just not to his face. I knocked, and a young girl with black hair answered the door. "Who is it?"

"I need to talk to…" I checked the name I'd written down without really reading, "Kazuto? Tell him it's Seth." She gave me a weird look before retreating into the house. I waited there for a while before Kirito answered the door. He invited me in, and I accepted. I sat on his couch, and he gave me a weird look. "Sorry if I messed up some tradition or something. I barely learned Japanese, I didn't have time to learn all the culture." He shook his head, still staring at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"Whats your plan?"

"Hmm?"

"Your plan."

"I don't know what your talking about."

"Look. Asuna is still asleep. I know that if there's any possible way of getting her out of where she is, you know it. If we free her, we might free all 300."

"Why do you care?" Did he really not know?

"Because I would tear through hell and back to wake up Rika, and I know you would do the same for Asuna."

Kirito eyed me for a bit, looking me up and down. "You really care about her?"

"I didn't know just how much…until I saw her lying there." Kirito motioned to follow him upstairs, and I did. He pulled up something on his computer, and showed it to me. It was an email, with a picture attachment. It was a picture of a giant cage, and inside…was a head of chestnut colored hair. "Is that…"

"I think so."

"Who is this from?"

"Egil. I'm going to see him in a few hours. Want to come with me?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

(X)

Egil was just as intimidating in real life, despite the decline SOA had on his muscles. Turns out, he ran a shop in real life too. It was a bar. As it turns out, there is no Japanese sweet tea. I had to teach Agil, as his name was in real life, how to make the stuff. And I'm probably still the only one who drinks it.

"So what was the picture you sent?" asked Kirito.

"It's a bit of a long story. Ever hear of this?" Agil slid a box across the bar, and Kirito caught it. On the cover were two people with wings, and the words ALfheim Online.

"A game?" I asked.

"It's and MMO for the Amushphere, a successor to the NerveGear."

"Then, another MMO like SOA?" asked Kirito.

"Whats Alfheim mean?" I asked.

"Land of the Faries."

"Faries?" I said.

"Mostly Social, then?" asked Kirito.

"No, supposedly not. There's a heavy emphasis on player skill. PKing is encouraged."

"Player skill?" asked Kirito.

"No actual levels, as such. Using skills improves them. Combat depends on the player's athletic ability." At this, I grinned. Even though I wasn't quite back to the Assassins' standards, I was still several times stronger and faster than the average human.

"That's hardcore," said Kirito.

"That's awesome," I said.

"Like a SOA with magic, but no sword skills. It's really popular. I've heard its because you can fly."

"Fly?" Kirito and I asked at the same time.

"You're a fairy, so you have wings. It has something called a 'flight engine' and once you're used to it, you can fly."

"How do you control it?" I asked.

"I don't know. But I hear its pretty hard."

"It certainly would be hard to control wings we don't have. Maybe you use the muscles on your back?" Kirito seemed lost in thought. I cleared my throat to bring him back to reality.

"So what does this game have to do with Asuna?" I asked. Agil pulled the picture he sent us from his pocket, and placed it on the bar.

"What do you think?"

"It looks like Asuna," said Kirito.

"I thought you'd say that."

"Just tell me. Where is this?"

"Inside the game, ALfheim Online. At whats called the World Tree. A legendary castle sits atop this tree. Players are divided into nine races, all of them racing to reach the castle first."

"Why cant they just fly up there?" I asked.

"Supposedly, there's a limit on how long you can fly, so you cant do it forever. And so, five players lined up, bigger ones on the bottom, and flew up like a rocket."

"I get it…" muttered Kirito. "Its dumb, but its pretty smart."

"And they didn't even make it to the tree's lowest branch, but they did take pictures. And something strange was in one of them."

"A birdcage?"

"And when they zoomed in on it as best they could," Agil pointed to the picture of Asuna, "they found this."

"But why would Asuna be there?" I asked. Kirito was staring at something on the back of the box.

"RCT Progress?" This somehow made him very distant. "Agil, can I borrow this?"

"I don't mind, but are you going there?"

"I need to see for myself."

"I'll have to buy the hardware and game myself, then," I said.

"It works with the NerveGear."

"Yeah…" But that was confiscated by THE Assassin when I got out. "But I didn't bring that with me. But that'll work for you, Kazuto."

"Go save them," said Agil. "Otherwise, our fight cant really end."

Kirito nodded, and I grinned. We left the shop, me pulling up my hood. "Alright, I've got a card in case of emergencies," I said, pulling a credit card from my wallet. "I'd say this is definitely an emergency." I bought an Amusphere, which turned out looking like wrap-around glasses, and the Fairy game. Then, we went back to Kirito's house, since it was closer than the home the Bureau provided. We were a lot richer here than in the U.S. due to a breach in the bank the Templars use. We stole MILLIONS of dollars while I was in SOA, and it was our greatest victory over them in a while. We were going to log in from his house, then I would go home, and then we could do even more. We walked in through the back yard, where the girl from earlier was sitting on the porch.

"Hey," said Kirito. The girl hurriedly swallowed the food she was eating.

"Brother!" she shouted. Then, she began to gasp for air. She fell onto her back, and strained to reach for the juice pouch next to her. I grabbed a rock from the ground, and threw it across the garden. It hit the pouch, tipping it into her hand. She grabbed it and pulled it to her mouth, drinking deeply. Then she gasped for air. "I thought I was going to die," she sputtered.

"You're always so careless," Kirito shot back. "Calm down a little." He guestered for me to go inside, and I did, closing the door behind me as he hadn't moved. They talked for a while, then he came inside. I set up my laptop in his room, hooking up the Amusphere to Kirito's wifi. I slipped on the glasses, to see Kirito was sitting solemnly, holding the NerveGear.

"You OK?" I asked.

"6 days," he whispered back.

"What?"

"We have 6 days before Sugou Nobuyuki marries Asuna." The news stunned me.

"But she's still in a coma."

"It doesn't matter. She cant object, though she does want to, and her parents have consented."

"Wow. That's…who is he?"

"The one responsible for this game. ALF."

"Well. Lets go get Asuna, then." Kirito looked at me, then grinned.

"Then, we get Rika." I smiled, before laying down on the floor.

'I'm coming to get you, Rika.' "Link Start!"

(X)

"Welcome to Alfheim Online," the system said in a woman's voice. Then, I was in a room, filled with screens, with orange rings on the ground. A keyboard appeared in front of me. "First, enter your gender and Character name." I selected male, and typed Corsi. Then, 9 different people with wings appeared in front of me. "Now, select your race." After some deliberation, I selected the red one. "Salamander, correct?" I hit yes. "Your character's appearance will be selected at random. Is that alright?" Again, I hit yes. "You will now be transported to the home town withing Salamander Territory. Good luck," said the system, as the room dissolved into light. Then I was falling. I was above a blood red castle, falling towards it. Then, the scene changed. Electricity crackled as I hovered in mid-air. The castle dissolved, and I fell into the void. I spawned a foot above a grassy ground, and I hit my face. I gave a small yelp of surprise and pain, and I heard another one. I scrambled to my feet, pulling the sword on my back out of its sheath. A black, spiky haired avatar climbed to his feet. It looked a bit like…

"Kirito?" I asked.

"Seth?"

"What happened? I thought we were supposed to spawn at the home town or something." Kirito tried to open his menu, but it didn't work. Then he tried it with his left hand, and we heard the familiar chime.

"Hey. I have all my skills from SOA. Whats going on?" I checked my menu to see that he was right. Hiding, small weapons, listening, unarmed combat, lock-picking, clothes-making. It was all here. I checked my items, and all of them were question marks. All except two. I chuckled as I put away my sword, and equipped my familiar tomahawk and hidden blade. "Please be here. Please be here." I turned back to see Kirito was quickly scrolling through his items, then he froze. He tapped on, and a small crystal teardrop materialized. He grabbed it. No, he cradled it. He tapped it once, and there was an explosion of light. At first, I shielded my eyes, then it dissipated. A small girl with long black hair and wearing a white dress was floating there. The girl opened her eyes, and Kirito spread his arms wide. "Its me, Yui. Do you remember me?" A look of surprise showed on her face, then she smiled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I got to see you again, Daddy!" 'Whoa. Daddy?' The girl floated down, and embraced Kirito. He let them have their…reunion, then they separated.

"Does someone want to tell me what just happened?"

(X)

After some things Yui had been explained, Kirito sat with Yui on his lap, and me sitting facing the both of them. "So, whats going on?" asked Yui.

"We aren't in SOA. Its another game, called ALfheim Online." The girl closed her eyes.

"Hold on a second." She paused before continuing. "This world is a copy of the SOA servers."

"A copy?" I asked.

"Yes. And who are you?" the girl asked.

"I'm a friend of…Your dad's. I'm helping him, and he's helping me."

"Well, the engine, programming, and graphics format are identical. But the version of the Cardinal system is a little outdated."

"RCT took over operations after Argus. In other words, RCT took Argus' programming and is using them. But why is our personal data here?" Yui shut her eyes again.

"This is definitely your character data from SOA. The save data is nearly identical, so any skills common with both games had their levels overwritten."

"Come to think of it, my duel-wielding skill was gone."

"Your items appear to be lost as well." That meant that whoever programmed my weapons into SOA put them in here too. That…was not a good thing. "You should delete them before the error detection software finds them." Kirito opened his menu, selected all of his items, and hit delete. I did the same after unmarking my two equipped weapons.

"Now, what about our skill levels?"

"Your skills shouldn't be a problem unless a human game master sees them."

Kirito chuckled. "I'm not a beater anymore. We're just cheaters. So, how is the system treating you, Yui?" Again, Yui shut her eyes.

"I'm classified as a player-support artificial personality program. A navigation pixie." Then the girl began to glow. When the light receded, she had shrunk to a few inches tall, her white dress had been exchanged for a pink one, and she had grown small pink wings. "This is my form as a pixie!"

"Then, do you have admin privileges like before?"

"No. All I can do is access the reference and wide-area map databases."

"I see. Actually, it seems Asuna…your mom is here."

"Mommy?" she said. "What do you mean?"

"Even after SOA was cleared, Asuna never woke up in reality. I heard about someone who saw her in ALF."

"So that's what happened…"

"I have a good idea of where to look. Its called the World Tree. I think that's it." Kirito pointed to an enormous structure in the distance that disappeared up into the clouds.

"Mommy is over there?" Kirito stared at the tree for a bit before jerking back to reality.

"Actually, why did we spawn at this empty forest? We were supposed to be warped to our home towns…"

"I don't know. Maybe the location data got corrupted? Or something got confused?"

"I wish it'd dropped us closer to the tree…" As they stood up, I felt a tingling at my back, and Kirito's wings appeared. They were black, but slightly translucent. Mine were red, and looked like…claws?

"So these are the wings. How do we fly?" I asked.

"There's an assist controller." Yui taught us the basics of flying, but it felt slightly…off.

"Wheres the nearest town?" asked Kirito.

"There's a town in Sylph territory called Sylvein to the west." Then she jumped a little.

"What?" asked Kirito.

"There are players nearby."

(X)

As it turned out, these players were fighting. We landed (Well, I landed. Kirito crashed.) in the middle of a standoff. There was a girl with green clothes, blonde hair and a gleaming sword. Then, there were 3 red clad warriors, all armed with pole spears. "I'm going to have to practice my landings…" muttered Kirito as he got to his feet. I glared at him while the blonde shouted to him.

"What are you doing? Run!"

"Why?" I asked, drawing my tomahawk. My question was soon answered.

"Fellow Salamander! Help us destroy her, and we shall reward you!"

"3 heavy fighters against one girl?" I asked.

"That's pretty lame," said Kirito.

"What did you say?" shouted one of them.

"Stay out of this, Spriggan." The two flew over to us, and my hidden blade extended. "Then we'll fight you, too!" He charged, descending on Kirito. Kirito caught the spear with his bare hand, holding the guy in place. He threw the man back, knocking them both to the ground.

"Umm…can we kill them?" asked Kirito.

"I-I guess so…they plan to kill you," responded the girl.

"Alright then," I responded, charging one. I swung my tomahawk in a downward arc, and he tried to block it with his pole spear. My blade cut through his guard like a knife through butter, and it's speed carried me down a little. But I pushed off the ground with my front foot, and kneed the guy in the stomach. He staggered a little, and I pounced on him, shoving him onto his back, and smashing my tomahawk onto his skull. He exploded into…fire. Weird. I turned to see Kirito had dispatched of the other one, and we both turned to the last one.

"Well? You want to fight too?" asked Kirito.

"I'll pass. My magic skill will reach 900 soon. I'd rather not incur a death penalty."

"Oh, come on. I bet a tomahawk to the face feels amazing!" I shouted.

"What about you, miss?" Kirito asked the woman.

"I'm good too." Then, she addressed the other Salamander. "Next time, I'll win."

"I'd prefer not to fight you one-on-one, either." Then he flew off.

"Hey, what are these flames?" asked Kirito.

"Shh...They're Remain Lights. Their minds are still there." The lights faded into nothingness. "So what should I do now? Thank you? Run away? Or fight?"

"Personally, I see myself as the hero who just saved the princess," said Kirito. "Crying and running into my arms would be a good start." I almost bust out laughing.

"Are you stupid?!" asked the girl.

"I was just kidding!" Kirito responded.

"That's right!" shouted Yui from Kirito's breast pocket. "You cant do that!"

"Hey, stay out of sight…"

"The only ones who can hug Daddy are Mommy and me!" she shouted, flying out of the pocket and hovering around his head."

"Daddy?" asked the girl.

"Oh…well, this is…" Kirito stuttered. The girl walked up to Kirito, who had trapped Yui in his hands.

"Is that a Private Pixie?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah, something like that."

She sighed. "Fine, but why is a Spriggan wandering around here? And why did a Salamander just slaughter one of his own?"

"W-We got lost." Kirito seemed nervous, and I was just waiting for him to crack. The girl stared at him, then laughed.

"Your territory is way to the east!" she shouted. "Is it even possible to be that lost? You're so weird. Anyway, I should thank you. Thanks for saving me. My name is Leafa."

"I'm Kirito."

"And I'm Corsi. But please, just call me Seth."

"And this is Yui," said Kirito.

"So, Kirito…What will you do now? If you like, I could buy you a drink as thanks. Well?"

"That would be nice. Actually, I was looking for something who could tell us a few things."

"Like what?"

"About this world, and especially about that tree," I piped up.

"That tree?" she asked. "The World Tree? Sure. I've been playing this game a long time. There's a neutral village to the north. It's a bit far, but let's fly there."

"Isn't the town called Sylvein closer?" asked Kirito.

"You two really don't know anything, do you? That's Sylph territory."

"So?" I asked.

"That means you cant attack Sylphs in their territory, but they can attack you."

"They wouldn't just start attacking all of a sudden. And I have you with me, Leafa," said Kirito.

"If you insist, it's fine, but I wouldn't bet on your friend making it out alive," she said, pointing at me.

"Why me?"

"If you haven't noticed, relationships between Salamanders and Slyphs aren't the best. Now, lets go," she said, making her wings grow.

"You can fly without an assist controller?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah, what about you?" she asked.

"We just learned how to use this," he said.

"There's a trick to flying on your own. Turn around, and don't use your controller."

"O-Ok." Kirito turned, and his wings conjured up.

She pressed on spots on his wings. "Can you feel this?" He nodded. "Imagine virtual bones and muscles spreading out from here, then try to move them." I followed her instructions. I've toned muscles most people don't even know they have, so feeling for something was nothing new. I felt the wings, then felt them flutter a bit. I flapped them harder, and I rose into the air. "See your friend's got it," she said, as Kirito rocketed into the air. Kirito was flailing around in the air, begging for it to stop. All three of us started to laugh as he panicked.

(X)

Flying in ALF felt a lot like when the Animus was set to predict what would have happened if George Washington became emperor of America. Conner had to take a drought that would destroy his mind, but enhance his body, and he got the ability to transform into an eagle and fly around. It felt exactly like that, except without the piercing pain. We landed in Slyvein (again, Leafa and I landed, Kirito crashed) as night fell. Leafa performed a healing spell on the damaged Kirito, which involved saying a lot of seemingly nonsense words. "Only Undines get high-level healing spell, but it's pretty useful to have," she said.

"So different races get different bonuses?" I asked.

"What are Spriggans good at?" Kirito asked.

"Treasure hunting and illusion magic, I guess. Neither of those are much use in battle."

"What about Salamanders?"

"Direct damage spells are fire-users bread and butter."

I had to admit, Slyvein was gorgeous. A bit too much green for my tastes, but eh. Suddenly there was a high pitched voice behind us. "LEAFA! You're okay!"

"Oh, Recon."

"You're great, Leafa." Suddenly, he noticed us. "A SALAMANDER! A SPRIGGAN?" He clutched the dagger behind his back, and my hidden blade slid into my palm.

"It's okay. They saved me." He seemed a bit shocked by this. "This is Recon, my friend."

"Kirito," said Kirito, extending his hand.

"Seth," I said, offering my right hand, keeping my blade ready. He seemed a bit shy as he took our hands.

"Nice to meet you. Wait, NO! Are you sure about this? They aren't spies or anything?"

"Its fine. They're a bit dim to be spies."

"That's mean," said Kirito.

"Sigurd and the rest saved you a seat at the usual tavern."

"Oh, okay. I'll pass today."

"You aren't coming?"

"No, I promised them drinks for saving me. See you later!" she shouted over her shoulder, grabbing Kirito's hand and dragging him along. I chuckled at Recon's shocked face, retracted my blade, and followed.

(X)

"Was that your boyfriend?" asked Kirito when we got our drinks.

"Your lover?" asked Yui.

Leafa furiously shook her head. "N-NO! He's just a party member."

"You seemed pretty close, though."

"I know him in real life." I officially decided to avoid this conversation, downing my drink. "He's in my grade at school. But that's all! Anyway…Thank you both for saving me." They clacked cups, and I did the same, but mine was already empty.

"They seemed pretty aggressive…" I said as Leafa took a sip. "Are group PKs like that common?"

"Well, like I said, Salamanders and Sylphs don't get along. But an organized PK like that is pretty new. I'm sure they'll start trying to clear the World Tree soon."

"About that," said Kirito. "I'd like you to tell me about the World Tree."

"You said something about that. But why?"

"We want to get up there."

"I think that's true for all players. That's ALO's grand quest."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how you're limited in how high you can go? And no race can fly continuously for more than ten minutes…But the first race to reach the Floating City atop the World Tree, and hold an audience with the Fairy King Oberon, will be reborn as an advanced class known as Alfs. And they'll be able to fly as much as they like."

"I see…" said Kirito. I was only half listening. I was trying to determine how much fabric it would take to make a new cloak for this game. "That does sound nice. How do you get to the top of the World Tree?"

"The base is a big dome. You can reach the Floating City from there. But the NPC guardians that defend the dome are really powerful."

"They're that strong?"

"The game's been around for a full year. Would you believe no one's beaten the quest yet?"

"Everyone must be missing a key quest. Or its set so that one race cant get there by themselves."

"You have good instincts. Everyone's searching for a missed quest as hard as they can right now. But if it's the latter, no one will ever clear it."

"No one?"

"Because it makes no sense! Why would you help another race with a quest if only one could clear it?"

"Then does that mean it's impossible to reach the top?"

"I think so. But you cant just give it up. Not once you see how fun it is to fly. Even if it takes years, someday…"

"That's too long!" shouted Kirito. He was pissed now, his eyes blazing with determination.

"Daddy?" asked Yui. His face softened.

"I'm sorry. But I need to reach the top of the World Tree."

"Why is it so important?"

"I'm looking for someone…"

"What do you mean?"

"Its not easy to explain. But, thank you Leafa. That information helped a lot." Kirito got up to leave, and I rose as well. Then her arm shot out, and grabbed his elbow.

"Wait. Are you going to the World Tree?"

"Yes. I need to see for myself."

"It's crazy…" He jerked his arm out of her grip. "It's far, far away, and there are a lot of strong monsters. Sure, you're both strong, but…Then, I'll take you there!" Kirito froze, his hand on the door.

"But I couldn't ask that of someone I just met."

"Do you know how to get there?" she asked, marching over. "What about the guardians?"

"Well, I'll think of something."

"It's fine. I've already made up my mind!"

"Fine."

"Umm…Can you log in tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Then be here at 3:00 PM. Both of you. I have to log off. You can use the rooms upstairs to log out. See you tomorrow."

"Wait!" She paused, her finger hovering above the log-out button. "Thank you." She gave a smile, before hitting the button, and disappearing. I turned to Kirito. "I'm going to use the sleep-log-out method upstairs. You can spend the night at my house, if you want."

"Thanks. I think I'm going to go shopping for materials, make a new cloak, then go to sleep."

"Be careful out there."

"I will."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Authors Note: So…not much to say. I live for your words, so if you're reading this, don't forget to review. I will be continuing this into the other arcs, partly because I want to, and partly because this is my favorite story idea in a while.**

As it turned out, Sylphs were Mega-racist towards Salamanders. They HATED me. I came across a shop, run by a player, and tried to walk in to purchase the materials I needed. I was promptly yelled at and shoved out the door. I went to a few more player run stores, all with the same result. I finally got my materials at an NPC shop, and left. I was confronted by a VERY large Sylph warrior, with an even larger sword. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Would you believe shopping?"

"Leave."

"Now, that's what I can't do."

"You WILL leave."

"Alright. Would you like to escort me out?" I asked, spreading my wings. Apparently he thought this was a good idea.

"Don't want your kind sneaking back in," he muttered as his wings appeared. I took off, and he followed, grumbling about how I was wasting his time. He escorted me to the edge of the neutral zone. Then I disappeared. I hid in the shadow of one of the town's pillars, and, on his display, I was gone, nowhere to be seen. I flapped my wings hard and shot up into the air silently. I was then on top of the pillar I'd been hiding under. The man had flown outside the neutral zone to find me, and I soared towards him. I flicked my hidden blade out, and I plunged it into his back. He exploded into fire, and I flew in the opposite direction to the inn. Then, when I got to the ground, I folded my wings into nothingness, and walked back my room.

I gathered the materials that I had bought, and went to the room that Kirito had rented for me. He didn't need to do that, which meant I owed him. I hated being in debt. But I concentrated on the task at hand. After several hours of sewing, I had my cloak. It was a black hoodie-type thing, reaching down to my mid-thigh. It had flame designs on my arms, reaching to my elbows, and on my hood, reaching from the point and sides, to about my ears. I had black pants, and a blood red shirt. After my clothes were ready, I unequipped everything, and got into bed. I thought about what I would do when all this was done. I fell asleep, thinking about what I'd say to Rika when she woke up.

(X)

I woke up in Kirito's room. It was about 6 in the morning, and I heard Kirito snoring on his bed. I got up, my back aching from sleeping on the floor. But I went downstairs to make breakfast. After all, I owed Kirito. I scrambled some eggs they had in the fridge, and cut up some fruit on the counter. As I finished, Kirito came down the stairs, yawning in his clothes from yesterday. "What are you doing?"

"I owed you for the room at the end of yesterday. So I made breakfast."

"Ok, then. If you cooked, I couldn't really care less."

"Well, then prepare to not care."

(X)

I decided to visit Rika at the hospital before going home. I got on my bike, and peddled the few miles to the large building. I got off and walked into the lobby. The woman from yesterday remembered me, smiling and handing me a pass. I smiled back, and got in the elevator. I went to the 47th floor, and got out. I walked down the hall, scanning my pass at the door, and it clicked open. I grabbed the knob, twisting, and shoving the door open with my shoulder. I walked in, past the curtain, and prepared to drop into the chair by her bed. But there was already someone sitting there.

There were several people in the room, in fact. There was a man, a woman, and a senior citizen. The latter was the one sitting in the chair, and they were all looking at me. "Who are you?" the woman asked, eyeing my Assassin hood. Yes, I had to wear the thing in real life.

"Seth. Seth Corsi. And who, if I may ask, are you?"

"What are you doing here?" asked the younger man. 'OK, apparently I CAN'T ask."

"I'm a friend of Rika's from…"I guestured to the NerveGear, "the other world. Sword Art Online." The older man flinched as I mentioned the name. "I came to visit her."

"Do you know why she isn't waking up? The game was cleared, but she never awoke!" screamed her mother.

"I don't. But, I promise you, I am doing everything I can to get her out. I just came to talk to her, and then I'll go on my way. Please?" I was really hoping they'd let me stay.

"Ah, let the young man stay," said the older man. "I'm her grandfather, and these are her parents." I nodded to them, before leaning back on the wall, staring at Rika's relaxed face.

"Hey, Liz. Kirito and I think we found something to get you out. There's another game like SAO called ALfhiem Online and we're following a lead there. I'm going to have to show it to you when you wake up, if you want. The flying is amazing, and they even have a mechanical race. I thought you'd like to hear that."

I imagined her sitting up, taking the NerveGear off, and walking towards me. Then, I blinked, and the vision was gone. She was still lying back, eyes screwed shut, NerveGear on her head. I sighed. 'HEY!' I heard a voice. I glanced at the other people in the room, but they hadn't seemed to hear it. I turned back to the door, to see a ghostly image of Rika's avatar, Lisbeth. 'Just get me out, stupid,' she said. She glanced at her real body. 'I need a haircut.' I grinned, and tried to touch the image. But my hand phased right through her, and then she too was gone. I sighed, before turning back to her family.

"Thanks for letting me stay," I said, before opening the door again, and walking out.

(X)

It was finally 2:50, and I slipped on the Amusphere. I glanced around my apartment. It was pretty bare, with a simple kitchen and a bed in one room, and a bathroom branching off from a door in the corner. There was a massive beast of a computer in the other corner, as the Japanese Bureau was running low on database managers. So, I would have to do my own research. I'd done a bunch of research on the game during the day, memorizing some of it's magic, yet not entirely understanding it. I laid back on the bed, and shut my eyes. "Link Start!"

I spawned in the bar, materializing at a table, and Kirito was already sitting across from me. I was just wearing my red shirt and pants from yesterday, so I equipped my weapons and my new cloak. They settled around me, after dropping a few inches from nothingness, and Leafa walked in the door. She looked the cloak up and down, nodding in approval. "Did you make that yourself?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

"Well, you're early," said Kirito.

"No, I just got here. I was out shopping."

"Oh, right. I need to get ready, too…This won't be good enough," he said, gesturing to the sword on his back."

"Yeah. Then, let's go to the weapons shop. How much money do you have?"

Kirito opened his menu, glancing around. "Is this Yuld stuff money?"

"Yeah."

He faltered, before shaking his jacket. "We're leaving, Yui."

She crawled out from his pocket, yawning. "Okay."

(X)

After a few minutes of shopping, Kirito got a black trench coat, and a typically over sized sword. Seriously, the thing was almost as big as him. We'd almost started leaving, when I saw a bow. "They have archery in this game?" I asked, walking over.

"Uh, yeah. But no one uses it, because it's really difficult." She hadnt even finished the sentence before I'd bought the thing, styling it to feel like Conner's bow. I could do my best shots when the bow was wooden and springy. I grabbed a cloth quiver and a few dozen arrows. I shrugged them both on my back, ignoring the weird looks they both gave me.

The three of us walked down the street, Leafa pointing out sights to us. We arrived at the tower in the center of town, and Kirito asked what I'd been thinking. "Why are we going to the tower?"

"When flying long distances, you start from the top of the tower. It gives you extra altitude."

"I get it. Less work for your wings," I said. "Well, lets get going."

"Yeah, I want to make it through the forest by night," said Leafa, shoving Kirito forward from behind. We arrived at the base of the tower, when there was a shout.

"Leafa!" a deep, commanding voice shouted. We turned to see a long haired, tall avatar, flanked by two guys was walking towards us.

"Hello, Sigurd," said Leafa.

"You're leaving the party, Leafa?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Don't you understand how that will inconvenience the other members?"

"You promised I could join only when I had the time, and that I could leave whenever I wanted."

"But you're already a well-known member of our party. If you leave without a reason, it will damage our reputation."

There was a tense moment, before Kirito spoke up. "Your party members aren't items."

I took a step forward, as Sigurd spoke. "What was that?"

Kirito walked straight up to Sigurd, and I stood next to him. "You can't keep other players equipped all the time, as if they were your armor or sword," I said.

"You…" Sigurd said, seemingly repelled by my very existence. It was very amusing. He reached for his sword. Less amusing. "You're just a Spriggan who likes to rummage through trash!" he said threateningly at Kirito. "And you're a Salamander! They're even worse! You're probably renegades who got kicked out of your territories."

"Don't be rude," said Leafa behind us. "They are my new partners."

"What?" Sigurd seemed stunned by this. "Leafa! Are you abandoning your territory and becoming a renegade, too?"

She thought for a second. "Yes, I am. I'm leaving this place." At this, Sigurd drew his blade, and my hidden blade snapped to attention. Maybe I could block his strikes, I just couldn't hit him.

"As long as you both just buzzed around, I didn't plan to concern myself with you. But if you're going to be thieves, that's a different matter. If you're here, in another species' territory, you can't complain if you get killed, right?" Kirito sagged his head, and that made Sigurd even madder.

"This isn't the time, Sigurd," muttered one of his men. "If we kill someone who can't fight back in front of all these people…" Sigurd finally seemed to notice the crowd his actions had drawn. LOTS of green-haired heads were pointed in our direction.

"Fine," he said, sheathing his sword. My hidden blade slid back up my sleeve as he spoke. "Once you're outside, run and hide, Leafa. If you betray me, it won't be long before you regret it." Sigured turned and walked away, and the tense atmosphere dissipated.

"Sorry for getting you two involved in that," Leafa said as we turned.

"It's fine," Kirito said, messing with his hair. "But are you sure about this? Abandoning your territory…" She lowered her head, grabbed my arm, and pushed Kirito towards the base, dragging me behind her.

(X)

The view from the top was gorgeous. "This is an amazing view," said Kirito. "We're so close to the sky. It's like I can reach out and touch it."

"Isn't it?" said Leafa. "Whenever I see this sky, it makes everything else feel small." Was it just me, or was Leafa standing a bit too close to Kirito. "This was a good opportunity. I always meant to leave this place."

"I see," said Kirito. "But it feels like we made you leave on bad terms."

"There wasn't any other way I could have left."

"What's a renegade?" I asked.

"A player who abandons their territory is a renegade. And other players look down on them."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am. But why do they want to tie each other down like that? We all have these wings…"

"Humans are complicated," said Yui from her spot in Kirito's pocket. She flew out, as she spoke. "I can't understand the psychology that causes the desire to seek others to manifest in such odd ways."

"Seek others?" asked Leafa.

"That is what…I'd do," said Yui, kissing Kirito's cheek with her tiny lips. "It's simple and unmistakable."

"Th-that's an amazing AI. Are all Private Pixies like that?" asked Leafa.

"She's weirder than most…" Kirito said picking his daughter up by the scruff of her neck, and putting her back in his pocket.

"Oh," the blonde responded. "The desire to seek others…" Suddenly, there was a high-pitched yell.

"LEAFA!"

We turned to see the kid from yesterday. "Oh, Recon," said Leafa.

"I can't believe you! You could have at least said something before you left!"

"Sorry, I forgot."

"Leafa, they say you quit the party."

"At least halfway on the spur of the moment…What will you do?"

"What else can I do?" he asked, pulling the dagger from his belt. My blade, too, unsheathed. "My sword belongs to you alone!"

"I don't really need it, though." His confidence immediately disappeared, and he sagged at the waist.

"W-Well, so I'll be going with you," he said hopefully. "Or I'd like to. But something's bothering me."

"What is it?" she asked.

"I can't prove anything yet, but I want to look into some things, so I'll stay in Sigurd's party. Kirito, Corsi." My eyebrow rose as my blade retracted. "She has a habit of flying into trouble, so be careful."

"Y-Yeah, got it."

"And just so we're clear, she's my-," He never got to finish that sentence, as Leafa's foot clamped down hard on his. He grabbed, it hopping around.

"We'll probably be in the neutral zone for a while. Send me a message if you need anything!" she shouted as her wings appeared. I made my wings come out too, and leapt off without flapping them. I swan dived through the air in a leap of faith, activating my wings halfway down, which was still pretty far. I rose up on the speed, and was now at equal height with the soaring Leafa and Kirito.

"You said he's a friend from real life?" asked Kirito.

"I guess." Kirito hummed to himself. "What does that mean?" she snapped.

"I was just a little jealous."

"I can understand how he feels," said Yui. "He likes you, Leafa. What about you?"

She blushed. "I d-don't know!" she stuttered, before soaring ahead. I flapped harder to catch up, and Kirito did the same. Leafa glanced back at her retreating home. "Now let's go! We'll get to that lake before we land," she said, gesturing to a body of water in the distance.

"Great!"

(X)

I charged the dragon, dropping on it from above, using gravity and my wings to increase my speed. I slammed my tomahawk down onto it's head and it shattered. I drew my bow, which passed seamlessly through my wings (Something I'd been worried wouldn't happen.) and shot an arrow that pierced the eye of the next one. The last one tried to retreat, but Leafa fired a ray of magic at it, which shattered the creature. "Good work," said Leafa, offering Kirito a high-five. I may have killed two, but he'd killed 5. He high fived her.

"Thanks for the backup." Our wings started making weird noises, but Leafa seemed to know what it meant.

"Our wings aren't going to last much longer. Let's land soon."

"Alright," he said, before they both dashed off. I sighed. Sometimes being ignored was useful. Sometimes essentail. But sometimes…It hurts. I flew after them, and we descended into the forest.

"Tired?" asked Leafa.

"Not yet…" he replied, stretching his hips.

"You're pretty tough. But our journey in the sky is at an end for a while."

"Huh? Why?" She pointed into the distance.

"You see that mountain, right? It's above the altitude limit, so to pass through it, you have to go through the caves. It's the toughest part of the trip between Sylph territory and Arun, or so I've heard. I've never been past this point either."

"Really? Caves, huh…Are they long?"

"Yep. Supposedly, we can rest a a neutral mining town midway. Do you still have time today, Kirito?"

"It's 7:00 PM in the real world, huh? I can keep going for a while."

"Seth?"

"I'm good. I've nothing to do but this, so…yeah."

"Alright. Then we can keep going for a bit. We can rotate out here."

"Rotate?"

"We can log out and rest, while the other two watch. You can't log out instantly in the neutral area. So you log out in turn, while the other guards your empty avatar."

"I see…Got it. You go first. Seth and I have got this."

"Okay, thanks," she said. "See you in twenty minutes." She manipulated her menu, and her character stood there for a bit, slouching as it automatically sat on the ground. Kirito and I stood around for a while, before he tried talking.

"So, why use a bow?"

"Well, the Farm trained us to be proficient in every type of weapon. Literally, every type. I could walk you through clearing a jam from an M1 Carbine if I wanted to. Add that to the fact that Conner's main long range weapon was a bow, and I'm a master at archery. The better question is, why are you using a sword that's bigger than you are?"

"The weapons here are really light. It had to be this big to meet my usual weight standards."

"I guess that makes sense," I responded, as Leafa perked up. "Hey, sleepyhead."

"I'm back."

"Noticed that. So, Kirito, you want to go next?"

"Nah. You go."

"Alright then. Back in a few," I said, tapping Log Out.

I woke up in my bed, a knocking at my door. I went to it, and pried it open. There was a member of the Bereau standing there, holding a piece of paper. I took it from him, nodded, and he raced down the hall. I scanned the paper as I shut my door. "Dear Seth Corsi, blahblahblah, we are deeply pleased with your transfer, blahblahblah, due to your experience in the SAO incident and the rise in VRMMO popularity, we are assigning you to evaluate any virtual Templar threats, and dispatch them in whatever world necessary. Sincerely, the Bureau. Great," I said, pulling open my fridge. Empty. 'Well, shit.' I pulled on the Amusphere. I'd order a pizza from one of the 24 hour places around here when we were done. "Link Start!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Authors Note: HAPPY HALLOWEEN, BITCHES! In all seriousness, I ask you guys to review, and I get nothing. Ugh. Also, I know I've been staying really true to the source, so I thought I'd earned the right to change something. It's not big, I just thought Seth needed more badass moments. Love you guys.**

Kirito tensed up as we got ready to leave. "Something wrong?" asked Leafa.

"It felt like someone was watching us," he responded.

"Yeah, I feel it too," I said.

"Yui, are there any players nearby?"

"No, I don't see anything."

"Maybe there's a tracer on us," said Leafa.

"Tracer?" I asked.

"It's a kind of magic. It takes the form of a small animal or insect, and tells the caster the target's position."

"Can't you get rid of it?" asked Kirito.

"If you can find it, you can. But if the caster's magic skill is high, it can be farther from the target. It'd be nearly impossible to find in a field like this."

"OK…Well, it might be my imagination," said Kirito. "Let's hurry." I wasn't as quick to assume as Kirito, but I took off with them nonetheless.

(X)

When we got in the cave, Kirito performed some magic that gave him and Leafa night vision, but mine was still there from leveling up hiding. "Night vision magic?" asked Leafa. "I guess Spriggans are good for something."

"Put that way, it kind of hurts," he grumbled back.

"But you should memorize any magic you can use. Of course, the only magic you're good at is illusion magic."

"Illusion?"

"You can use it to trick people. It's not that useful in combat, though. Well, even the lame Spriggan magic might save our lives someday."

"That hurt even more," he whispered back to me. Kirito and Leafa started practicing magic as we walked. He tried to say some of the words, before Leafa interrupted.

"Don't try to memorize them as sounds. Learn the words of power's meanings. Then memorize the spells, based on their effects."

"I never thought I'd have to do something like memorizing English in a game."

"I guarantee you both that this isn't English," I said, scanning my own magic spells.

Leafa glanced back at me. "Do you know a lot of English?"

"I only learned Japanese a few months ago. I recently moved here, and up until then, I only spoke English. Besides, I'm still using the translator. It's just easier that way."

"Well, just so you know, the higher-ranked spells have around twenty words." This made Kirito's already terrible posture sag even lower.

"I'm just going to stick to fighting…"

"No complaints!" Suddenly, she got a orange alert. "I have a message. Hold on a sec."

"Sure," I said.

"Recon, again? I'm sure it's nothing, but…" she tapped it, and the message appeared. "I was right, be careful. S," she read aloud. "What's this? 'S'? Sa…Shi…Su?"

"What's wrong?" asked Kirito.

"Oh, well…"

"Daddy, something's getting closer," Yui said from his pocket.

"Monsters?" he asked. She shook her tiny head.

"No, players. Lots of them. Twelve."

"Twelve?!" asked Leafa incredulously. "I've got a bad feeling. Let's hide and wait for them to pass." I nodded, melting into the shadows, and climbing up the wall behind me. Leafa grabbed Kirito, pulling him up against a wall, then she performed what could only be a hiding spell, because a wall faded into existence in front of them. I could hear mutterings from on the other side, but not even my hearing level could fully penetrate the wall. Suddenly, I got the feeling I was being watched. I activated Eagle vision, and a red target appeared in the form of a flapping bat. I dropped from the wall, loosing an arrow. It pelted into the creature, and it disappeared. Suddenly, Leafa broke through the wall. "That was the tracer! Run!" She sprinted down the hall, and I did the same.

"Can't we just hide again?" yelled Kirito, slightly behind us.

"The enemy know we blew up their tracer," she said as Kirito caught up. "We won't be able to fool them. And that was a fire element familiar."

"Great," I said. "Like I needed more evidence I chose the wrong race."

"But what are a group of Salamanders doing here?" asked Leafa, as we entered an underwater lake in a dome. We were running along a bridge, which led to a city.

"It's a lake…" whispered Kirito as we ran over the bridge. "Looks like we're going to make it."

"Don't lower your guard and fall in," she shot back. Suddenly, streams of fire shot over our heads, and raised a wall that covered the gate to the city in a wall. "Crap," she said, coming to a halt. Kirito leapt at it with his sword, but it didn't budge. "That won't work."

"You should've said something sooner."

"You're in too big a hurry. This is an earth magic barrier. Physical attacks won't break it."

"Can we jump in the lake?" I asked.

"Nope. Supposedly, there are extremely high-level monsters in the water. Fighting without an Undine backing you up would be suicide."

"Then we have to fight?" asked Kirito.

"Yeah, but it might not be too easy. If the Salamanders can use high-level earth magic, they have a powerful mage." I drew my tomahawk from my belt, and my hidden blade snapped out. Leafa drew her sword.

"Leafa, it isn't that I don't trust your skills as a swordsman. But could you handle support from here? I want you to stay in the back and heal us. That way, I can fight harder." Leafa nodded as she sheathed her blade.

3 Salamander shield users charged us, and Kirito launched forward. I sprinted towards them as well, and they locked shields as we swung. My tomahawk bounced off the shield, bringing down the users health a fraction. Three healers behind them healed the shield users, then mages behind THEM launched fire in our direction. It launched us back, and I slammed my head into the wall. I drew my bow as Leafa healed the both of us, but each arrow was blocked by a raised shield. Then the mages launched fire again. I turned to Leafa. "The shield users have us pinned down, but the mages should be easy to take down, right?"

"Theoretically."

"Keep healing Kirito," I said, giving a wink, and hurling myself off the bridge. I reached my hand back and caught the edge as I fell. I ended up hanging from the side of the bridge, and started shimmying along as I heard more explosions from the bridge. I pulled myself up on the other side of the battle, and plunged my tomahawk into the back of one's head. I pulled him back, my blade embedded in his helmet, and stabbed my hidden blade into his vulnerable neck. But that was nothing, compared to what happened next. Leafa blocked the next magic attack, and Kirito took advantage. He emerged from a fiery tornado as a giant blue beast, with the body of a man, and the head of a goat. It roared, and one of the shield users turned to run. Kirito leapt forward, running the man through with his massive claws. I heard one of the mages shouting orders, but he didn't last long with an arrow in his throat. Kirito snatched up another warrior in his jaws, and threw the last one into the ground. The mages started launching explosion magic, but Kirito dashed forward, swiping two of them off the bridge, and I pelted them with arrows in mid-air. They turned into Remain Lights, and began hovering over the water.

Kirito slammed his hand down, launching two more mages into arrow territory. One of the mages gave the order to retreat, but they turned to see me. I launched an arrow into one's face, and Kirito cut up one with his claws. He swiped one off the bridge, and we turned to the one giving orders. He willingly ran off the bridge into the water. Kirito held up the last trembling mage, when Leafa interrupted. "Kirito, let him live!" Kirito dropped the man, and he landed next to me. He clung to me as he got up, but scrambled away and fell again when he saw who it was. Kirito shrunk to normal size as Leafa held her sword to the Salamander's throat. "Now, why don't you explain who sent you here?"

"K-Kill me if you want!"

"Why, you…"

"Oh! That was fun…" said Kirito as he stretched his muscles. Kirito walked over to us, and bent down to the guy. "Hey, nice fight. That was a good plan. If I'd been alone, I wouldn't have lasted a minute."

"Wait, Kirito!"

"Give me a second. So, I have an offer for you. These are the items and Yuld I won in that fight. If you answer my questions, maybe you can have them!"

"Uh, I get to keep mine, right?" I asked, eyeing the small scrolls of words of power I'd gotten off one of the mages. He nodded, and I grinned.

"Seriously?" asked the guy.

"Totally," Kirito responded.

"Men," Leafa muttered.

"Hey, its not all of us. THAT one is just crazy. But he's usually right," I said, standing next to her.

(X)

"It was earlier this evening when G-Takusu…The leader of the mage squad, I mean…He messaged me on my cell to meet here. And when I arrived, he said twelve of us were going to go hunting for 3 people, and one of them was one of us. I thought it was overkill, but…He said you were the ones who took out Kagemune, so it made sense."

"Kagemune? Whos that?" Kirito asked.

"The leader of the lancer squad," he said. "He's famous for hunting Sylphs. But yesterday, he got wiped out in battle, and ran back. That was you two, right?" I nodded.

"But why did this G-Takusu guy come after us?" asked Leafa.

"Looks like it was someone higher up…Something about you interfering with the plan."

"Plan?" I asked.

"They wouldn't tell someone at the bottom of the totem pole like me. But it looks like they're planning something big…When I logged in today, I saw a HUGE number heading north."

"They must be…going for the World Tree."

"No way. We figured the whole army would need at least ancient weapon-class equipment. So we're saving money for that. That's all I know. You weren't lying about what you said earlier, were you?"

"No," said, Kirito. "I'd never lie about a trade."

As they man walked off, admiring his new load-out, Leafa addressed Kirito. "Hey, that monster I just saw…that was you, right?"

"I think so…"

"You think so?"

"That happens to me sometimes…I just snap in battle, and start forgetting things."

"Scary," said Leafa.

"Though I do mostly remember this recent one. I used the spell Yui suggested. And then I got huge…I lost my sword, so I just started grabbing people."

"You chomped on them, too," I said.

"Come to think of it, yeah…I got to feel like a monster. It was lots of fun!"

"Do I want to know what my race tastes like?"

"A texture like yakiniku just before it's burnt."

"OK…I don't know what that is." Suddenly, Kirito turned, and clamped his teeth down on Leafa's fingers. Leafa recoiled, screaming, and slapped Kirito HARD. Kirito gave a muffled yell of pain, and I laughed. "You deserved that."

(X)

The three of us walked the city. "So this is Lugru?" asked Leafa. Kirito was still busy rubbing the wounded symbol on his face.

"That one was your fault," said Yui.

"See, even your daughter agrees," I said.

"Seriously!" shouted Leafa.

"It was a hilarious joke to lighten up a tense vibe," he muttered.

"OK, I know jokes. Biting someone is not a joke," I said.

"Next time you do that, I'll slice you in half," muttered Leafa threateningly.

Leafa smiled as Kirito nodded, and then went to check out some daggers. "That's right…" Kirito said. "Didn't you get a message before those Salamanders attacked us?"

"Yeah…I forgot." She check Recon on her friends list, but the circle next to his name was grayed out. Apparently she knew what that meant. "What's with him? Did he fall asleep?"

"Want to log out and try to reach him?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'll log out for a second and check with him. You two wait. Take care of my body, Yui."

"Okay…" she said softly.

"Make sure your dad and his friend don't do anything to it."

"Roger!" she shouted, as Kirito stared blankly, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously…" Kirito muttered. Leafa sat on the nearest bench, and hit the log-out option. Her body slumped in her seat as her mind left this world.

"I'm going to check out some of those bigger quivers over there," I said, gesturing to a nearby stall. "Come and get me if I'm not back when she is." He nodded, and sat next to her. I bought a bigger quiver, upgrading my 36 arrow capacity to 50, and a few other things I thought would be useful. I came back to find Leafa was talking vigorously to Kirito. "Didn't I say to come get me?"

"She started freaking out when she came back," Kirito said, shrugging.

"I have to take care of something now. It seems I don't have time to explain. And I may not be able to return here…"

"Then you can explain on the way," I said, equipping my new quiver and filling it with arrows. "We have to walk out of here anyway, right?"

We began running out of town. "So, in forty minutes, past the Valley of the Butterflies, a discussion will begin between the Sylphs and the Cait Sith."

"OK…But who came up with 'Valley of the Butterflies'?" I said.

"How do the Salamanders benefit from attacking the Sylphs and the Cait Sith?" asked Kirito.

"First, they can stop the alliance. If an information leak on the Sylph side kills their leader, wouldn't the Cait Sith be upset?"

"Pissed," I said.

"It's also possible there could be war between the Cait Sith and the Sylphs. And if you take out a territory leader, you get thirty percent of the territoty's money, and you can invade its town for ten days and levy whatever tax you want."

"You can do that?" asked Kirito.

"So, Kirito, Seth. This is a Sylph problem. There's no reason you need to help. If we got to the meeting, we probably won't get out alive. We'll have to start at Sylvein again. No, it's even possible..." she slowed to a halt, and I stopped behind her. Kirito, who had been running ahead of us, stopped as well. "That if you want to reach the top of the World Tree, you'd be better off working with the Salamanders. If they pull this off, they'll be perfectly positioned to make an attempt up the World Tree. Since you're," she gestured to Kirito, "a Spriggan, they might hire you as a mercenary. And Seth, you're one of them. If you prove yourself, your almost guaranteed a spot in their army. So even if you kill me here, I won't complain."

"In the end, it's just a game, so do what you want. If you want to kill someone, kill them. If you want to steal, you steal. I've met more people who think that way more than I'd want. In a way, it's true. I used to think the same way." Kirito walked over. "But it's not true. There are things you have to protect especially because it's a virtual world. I learned that from someone important. If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and the character are one and the same. I like you, Leafa. I want to be your friend. I'd never attack someone like that just for my own benefit." Kirito finished his speech, and Leafa opened her eyes again.

"Kirito… Thank you."

He suddenly panicked. "Sorry, that sounded really arrogant, right? It's a bad habit…"

"No, I was happy."

"Crap…We're wasting time, aren't we? Yui, we're going to run. Lead the way."

"Roger!"

"Seth, how high is your agility stat?"

"A little lower than yours, but not by much."

"All right. I've got Leafa, you just follow Yui."

"Wait, what do you mean, you've got me-," Kirito grabbed her wrist, and I sprinted ahead, little more than a blur, following the purple glow that was Yui, Kirito dragging a screaming Leafa along for the ride. We dashed through monster groups and reached the cave exit in seconds.

We dashed out into the open air, and I spread my wings. Kirito and Leafa plummeted for a second before doing the same. "You two are taking years off my life!" Leafa shouted as we soared along.

"It saved time," I replied, flying upside down.

"Honestly…"

"Where will the talks be taking place?" asked Kirito.

"Hmm…Let's see," she said, opening her map. "To the northwest, inside that mountain."

"How much time do we have left?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Hope we make it!" We flapped our wings hard against the wind, and probably achieved the fairy equivalent of a sonic boom.

(X)

"I don't know if we'll make it there before the Salamanders," said Kirito.

"Yeah," replied Leafa. "Even if we can warn them, we'll either get the leader out, or all die together in battle."

"Player signals," said Yui. "A group of 68 players is ahead!"

"Kirito, what's the biggest group of players you've ever fought at once?"

"40 or so, at the raid on Laughing Coffin. You?"

"50. I charged the Army. Don't ask."

"That's probably the Salamander attack force," shouted Yui. Suddenly, we saw them. Fleck of red soaring over the green forest. "Fourteen more are up ahead. Most likely, the Sylph and Cait Sith diplomats. 50 seconds until they make contact."

"We didn't make it in time," said Leafa, sagging her head. "Thank you, Kirito, Seth. This is far enough. You two go to the World Tree. I'm going to save Sakuya. It wasn't for long, but it was fun. I hope we meet again."

"Running away isn't really my style," said Kirito.

"We came this far. Might as well see it through," I said. I folded my wings, and plummeted towards the ground. I pelted into the ground, shaking up dust like a meteorite, and I heard Kirito and Leafa make a regular landing beside me. The dust cleared to reveal Kirito and I standing there, side to side. "EVERYONE, PUT AWAY YOUR SWORDS!" I shouted. Several of the Salamanders lowered their spears, asking who I was. I lowered my hood as Leafa talked to the leaders. "We want to talk to your commander!" A heavily armored Salamander with a VERY impressive looking sword floated through the crowd. I floated up to him, and Kirito followed.

"What's a Salamander defending Sylphs for?" asked the man. I stayed silent, and Kirito just stared at the guy. "I'm going to kill you, regardless of your answer. But in honor of your bravery, I will speak to you first."

"So gracious of you," I said sarcastically. "I'm Corsi, and this is Kirito. He's the ambassador for the Spriggan-Undine alliance." I was completely pulling this one out of my ass, making it up as I went. "I am his bodyguard, and have been dedicated to speak to you on his behalf," I said, silently shushing Kirito next to me. "If you attack this meeting, we can assume you desire a full-scale war with all four races, correct?"

"An Undine-Spriggan alliance ambassador? And you, a renegade, are his only bodyguard?"

"I assure you, I'm very good at what I do. We merely came to negotiate trade with the Sylph and Cait Sith alliance. But if the talks are disrupted, it will be much worse. The four races will ally against the Salamanders."

"You provide no evidence, and are both wearing horrible gear. You can't expect me to believe you," he said, drawing the sword on his back. "If you can withstand my assault for thirty seconds, I will believe that he is an ambassador, and you are his bodyguard."

"Very generous," I said, drawing my tomahawk, and flicking my hidden blade out. Kirito tried to talk me out of it.

"Are you insane? That sword is going to kill you!"

"I've got to do this. I NEED to do this. For Rika, for Asuna, for all 300. And, I want to prove that not all Salamanders are DICKS!" I shouted the last sentence at my challenger and his men.

"The least you could do is not provoke him."

"Now, where's the fun in that?" I asked. "Go. If I fail, protect Leafa and the rest. If you fail, I'll see you wherever we end up." Kirito nodded, then flew down to the group. I flipped my hood up, readied my blades, and he leveled his massive sword.

"You would fight me with such puny weapons?"

"I could fight you with a toothpick." He tilted his sword, and some sun reflected into my eyes. He probably expected my to squint. I didn't. He charged anyway, swinging the sword down extremely fast. I dodged to the left, swiping at his head with my tomahawk. He ducked, then swung down again. I raised my hidden blade…and his sword passed right through mine. I plummeted into the ground and somehow heard the Cait Sith leader speak.

"The Demonic Sword Gram has a bonus skill. Ethereal shift, letting it phase when someone tries to block it with a sword or shield."

'Well, shit. If I can't block, then I can't let him attack.' I shot up out of the crater I had created, swinging precisely with my blades, ducking and dodging when he tried to counter-attack. "I'm amazed you're still alive," he muttered, as I locked my tomahawk in a sword lock, using my hidden blade for leverage.

"I'm amazed you can be this arrogant!" I shouted, shifting my weight, and shoving the top of my tomahawk into his face. He shot back, and I stayed where I was. "It's been thirty seconds by now."

"Sorry, but I've decided to kill you. Now you have to survive until I kill you."

"Lying bastard…" I muttered. Then, I charged at him, ducking the strike he tried to hit me with and pretended to strike down with my tomahawk. He dived left, and I put a little present in a crevice of his armor. He tried staring me down again for a second. Then the smoke bomb exploded. It sent him coughing, and I could see his wild strikes with my Eagle Vision. I ducked in past a wide swipe to the left, plunging my blade into his throat. I spun around, stabbing again into the back of his neck, then placed the tomahawk across his neck. As the smoke cleared, I tore his throat out with my tomahawk. I landed hit after hit as the pain dazed him, then he tried to charge at me. I slammed my tomahawk into the top of his head, pulled it out, and slammed it down into his clavicle. I yanked it out again, slamming him down to earth with a drop-kick to the face and wings. Then, I folded my wings and plummeted after him, landing on him, and using the speed to drive my tomahawk from his head right down to his toes. A huge explosion detonated in my face, blasting me back into the air, and all that was left of the other Salamander was his Remain Light.

I heard cheers from the group on the ground, and compliments from the Salamanders at my back. I looked at my weapons, gleaming in the sunlight. "Thanks, Liz. I'll get you out soon enough." I placed the tomahawk back in my belt, and retracted the blade on my wrist. I landed back on the ground, and the leader of the Sylphs revived the General.

"You are an excellent fighter. The best I have ever seen."

"Thanks. You were the best I've ever fought too, and that sword bonus skill is just awesome."

"I had no idea there were some like you among the renegades. The world is a bigger place than I thought."

"Will you believe me, then?"

He probably could have killed us all if he gave the order to attack. But he was called aside. "Gene?"

"Kagemune? What is it?"

"Oh, from yesterday," I heard Leafa whisper.

"You know that my party was wiped out yesterday, right?"

"Yes."

"It was this Spriggan and Salamander that did it. There was indeed an Undine with them." Okay, now I wasn't the only one lying out of my ass.

"Very well. Then I suppose I must believe it. It's true that neither I nor our leader intends to fight the Undines and the Spriggans. We'll withdraw for now. But someday, I'll fight you again."

"I look forward to it," I said, offering a fist bump. He took it, then gave the order to retreat. As the Salamanders flew off, Kirito turned to me.

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you."

"You're insane, you know that?" asked Leafa.

"Just now realizing?" I said, jokingly. Suddenly, the Sylph leader cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but could you explain what's happening?"

(X)

"I see," she said, after all had been explained. "I did sense some degree of irritation in Sigurd's attitude."

"Irritation?" asked Leafa. "At what?"

"He probably wasn't able to accept that, in terms of power, we were falling behind the Salamanders. Sigurd is a man to whom power is very important. Not just for his character stats and abilities…He desired power as a player, as well."

"But even so, why would he spy for the Salamanders?"

"You've heard about the 5.0 patch they'll be releasing soon? Apparently, they're finally putting in a reincarnation system."

"Then…"

"Mortimer put him up to it. Bring us the head of your leader, and we'll allow you to reincarnate as a Salamander."

"So what will you do, Sakuya?"

"Lu, you've raised your dark magic skill, right?" she said, addressing the Cait Sith leader.

"Yes."

"Open a Moonlight Mirror to Sigurd." Lu said about 15 words of power, and a dome that had the semblance of nighttime appeared around us. A mirror appeared in front of Sakuya, showing Sigurd sitting at a table and drinking wine. "Sigurd," she said. He dropped the drink, and jumped out of his chair.

"S-Sakuya?!"

"Indeed. Unfortunately, I'm still alive."

"Why? I mean, what happened at the meeting?"

"It conducted successfully. We might still sign the treaty, though. Oh, right…we had an unexpected guest."

"A g-guest?"

"General Eugene sends his regards." Sigurd seemed shocked as he took in that. Then he noticed Leafa, Kirito and me in the background.

"Leafa…So that's it! Those incompetent lizards. Well? What will you do, Sakuya? Fine me? Kick me out of the government? But without me running the military, how long will your rule last?"

"No. If you cannot stand being a Sylph, I thought I would grant your request."

"Wh-What?" She tapped her menu, and he got a pop-up message. "Are you insane?! Me? Your banishing me?"

"That's right. You can wander the neutral territory as a renegade. Hopefully, you will find something new there to occupy your time." He sprung at the mirror.

"Curse you…" Just before he hit the mirror, he was teleported. Sakuya nodded at Lu, and she lowered the dome and dissolved the mirror.

"Sakuya?" asked Leafa.

"I thank you, Leafa. I'm very happy you came to save me."

"I didn't do anything. You should thank Seth and Kirito." 'Ah. Shit.' I thought as attention was brought onto us. I've never been good with attention, and preferred to stay out of the limelight. That's one of the reasons why the Assassins like me so much.

"That's true. Just who are you?" she asked.

"Hey, what you were saying about a Spriggan-Undine alliance…Is that true?" asked Lu.

"No. I made that up." The two leaders seemed a bit surprised.

"You're crazy," Sakuya muttered. "I can't believe you came up with that on the spur of the moment."

"In poker, it's best to raise the pot when you have a bad hand. I just happened to have a large pot, and a decent hand." I was surprised when Lu moved up to me.

"For a big liar, you're pretty strong," she said. Then, she started leaning on my shoulder, and my eyes widened. "Maybe you're a secret weapon of the renegades?"

"No. Just me." She then leaned back and laughed. Then she grabbed my arm, and my mind went into overdrive. The Cait Sith made her offer.

"If you aren't tied down anywhere, why not be a mercenary for the Cait Sith? You'll get three meals a day, plus snacks and a nap."

"Well, as appealing as a nap sounds right now, I'm going to have to-," Then Sakuya was on me, making HER pitch.

"Corsi, was it? How about you join me for a drink after this in Sylvein?" 'Well this is hell. I have two beautiful women on my arms, and I neither are the one I want,' I thought as I tried to think of a way out of this. "I'd like to get to know you a little better."

"That's not fair, Sakuya! You shouldn't try to seduce him," she said, gesturing to Sakuya's…chest.

"You, too…" she shot back, pointing at where Lu was holding my hand, which happened to be very high on her inner thigh. "You're clinging to him too much." 'And now they're fighting. Liz? Anytime would be good to drop from the sky. No? Ok.'

'HELP!' I mouthed to Kirito. Suddenly, there was a hand, pulling me back by my belt. "Stop it," Leafa said, yanking me away from the girls. "You're embarrassing him." I turned back to the girls.

"I appreciate the offers. But I'm sorry. She promised to take me and my friend to the World Tree."

"Oh, that's a shame," said Sakuya. "You're going to Arun, Leafa? Sightseeing? Or…"

"I was planning to leave the Sylphs. But now I'm going to return to Sylvein, although I'm not sure when."

"Understood. I'm glad to hear it. Make sure you come back. Bring him," she nodded her head at me, "with you."

"Stop at my place on the way back," said Lu. "We'll throw you a party."

As they got ready to leave, Lu and Sakuya wanted to thank us again. "Thank you so much for coming today, Leafa, Kirito, and Corsi. Had we fallen today, we'd never have caught up to the Salamanders. I'd like to thank you somehow."

"It was nothing," I said, scratching the back of my neck. Leafa seemed to have an idea, though.

"Sakuya…Alica. Wasn't the goal of this alliance to venture up the World Tree?"

"Yes, eventually."

"I'd like you to let us come with you," Leafa said. "As soon as possible."

The two glanced at each other. "I have no objection. Actually, we'd be quite grateful," Sakuya said. "But why are you in such a hurry?" Leafa glanced at Kirito, who began to speak.

"Corsi and I came to this world to reach the top of the World Tree, in order to meet someone who may be there."

"The Fairy King Oberon?" asked Sakuya.

"No…" he responded. "I don't think so. It's someone I can't reach in the real world, but I have to see, no matter what."

"However, it will probably take time to prepare all the raid member's equipment," said the Cait Sith. "Maybe just a day or two…"

"I see…" muttered Kirito. "Yeah, you're right." I could see tears starting to appear in his eyes, and I could tell what he was thinking. I wished I could do something to help, since helping Asuna meant helping Liz, and then I realized that I could. I pulled up my menu, noticing the MASSIVE spike in Yuld I'd gotten from Eugene, plus my converted Col from SAO.

"Will this help?" I asked, materializing the Yuld in a bag, and handing it to the Cait Sith. She instantly dropped it once it's weight was her responsibility.

"S-Sakuya! Look!"

"All these 100,000 Yuld mithril pieces! Are you certain about this? With this money, you could build a castle on prime land."

"I don't mind. I really don't need it. Just have your troops ready to go as soon as you can."

"This will get us really close to the amount we need," said Lu.

"We'll ready our equipment as quickly as we can," said Sakuya.

"Thank you both," I said, turning back to Kirito. I put a hand on his shoulder. "You alright?" I whispered.

"Yeah…Thanks. I just really…"

"I know. Me too." They all took off soon after, waving to us as they left.

"It kind of feels like none of that really happened," said Leafa.

"You're telling me," I said. Then, I saw she was really talking to Kirito, and then I became VERY interested in the bushes on the other side of the plateau.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Authors Note: Hey guys. Doing some POV changes in this, just for storytelling's sake.

We got to Arun, and the town was amazing. The entire place was buzzing with activity, and literally glowing with all the lights. But Kirito's attention was focused on the tree. "The World Tree…"

"Yeah, this is Arun! The center of ALfheim, the biggest city in the world," said Leafa.

"We're finally here."

"I've never been to a city this size," Yui said, in awe.

"Me, either," said Leafa. "The ore light looks like stardust…" Suddenly, there was a loud booming noise.

"The server will be down today, January 22nd, from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM for scheduled maintenance. Players are asked to log out ten minutes in advance. Repeat: The server will…"

Leafa yawned, and stretched her shoulders. "That's all for today, huh? Let's log out at an inn."

"Yeah…" said Kirito. "Well, let's find an inn. Seth blew all his cash, so I guess I'm buying for you, too?"

"Yeah," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Sorry."

"Well, then let's go somewhere not too pricey."

"That's only because he was showing off by giving all his money to Sakuya. He should have saved money for an inn."

"Yeah, well…"

"You heard your dad," said Leafa to Yui. "Is there a cheap inn nearby?"

"There's a super-cheap one down there," she said, pointed down the road.

"S-Super-cheap, huh?" I began walking in the direction she pointed.

"Well, let's go!"

"Hey, wait up!"

(X)

I logged out at 3:30 in the morning, ordering a pizza quickly. I devoured the thing once it arrived, then collapsed into what was almost a coma. I woke up a little after 8, but I wasn't meeting up with Kirito and Leafa until the afternoon. I decided to go to the hospital, and shrugged on my Assassin cloak. I flipped the hood up, and got on the motorcycle the messenger had left for me yesterday, with another note. "Parkor is a bit conspicuous in Tokyo, so use this when you can." I grinned, and got on the bike. 'The Assassins are a lot more generous when they have cash,' I thought as I revved the engine to life.

Liz's POV

I bit into another seed, making another remark about Seth's weird Assassin attire. He grinned, flashing his teeth. I was in bed, sick again. I felt like shit, and there was another boss fight coming soon. He had to leave soon, and he was already ready to go. He flipped up his hood, pulled the covers up over me more, and kissed my forehead. Then he turned, and walked out the door, and I fell asleep.

Asuna's POV

I watched the two purple creatures approach the hologram of a brain. "Subject 219 is having another dream about Corsi. The B-13 and B-14 fields are off the scale. Same with 16. High excitement."

"Well, management says we need to elaborate more on the difference between emotional and physical pain. Turn it sour." One of the creature's tentacles moved to the side of the podium the brain was hovering over, and tapped a part of it. It lowered to reveal countless dials and buttons. He turned one.

Liz's POV

I woke up, and it was a few hours later. Seth should have been back by now, right? I checked the local news, and they were all saying the 78th boss had been beaten. So why wasn't he back? I scrolled down my friends list, and looked under Kirito, where he should have been. But he wasn't there. He was…He was… I pulled the covers back over my head, sobbing.

Seth's POV

I drove up to the hospital, kicking out the stand, and yanking off the helmet. I got my pass, and went to the 47th floor again. I swiped my card, and this time the room was mercifully empty. "Hey, Liz. We're getting really close to getting you out, I think." I sat in the chair, pulling it up to the bed, and holding Liz's hand. "I really miss you sometimes. I made some new friends, and some enemies. I also may have defeated the greatest warrior in ALO. So, you know, just a normal day. I also got an official task from the Assassins, so you can still help me in the virtual world if you want." Suddenly, I noticed something. I could feel her heartbeat under my hand, and the repetitive beep next to me, and something had accelerated both of them. It was beating at almost two and a half times of what was healthy. Wherever she was, she was in danger, or pain, or…something. "Liz! Liz, I…I can't…I-I…I'm here. That's all I can do for now." I lowered my head, touching her knuckles to my forehead, and staring at the ground between my feet. "I'm sorry."

(X)

I threw the Amusphere on after driving dangerously fast home. I jumped onto the bed, and hadn't even hit the sheets before I shouted, "Link Start!"

I spawned in a bed in the inn we left yesterday. Kirito was already sitting next to me, and he saw the distress on my face. "Seth? Something up?"

"Rika. Rika's in danger! We have to-," I yelled, leaping out of my seat.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down. How do you know?" he asked as he got out of his chair. I shoved past him, and burst out into the city, rocketing up into the air.

"LIZ!" I shouted as I soared over low clouds, and then my head slammed into an invisible barrier. I drew my tomahawk and slammed it into the purple warning message. "LET ME THROUGH! YOU BASTARD, SOGOU! LET! ME! THROUGH!" I slammed my blade into the horizontal wall, striking with each word. Suddenly, a black figure was on me, arms wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms to the side and preventing me from attacking. I tried breaking free, but Kirito's strength stat was higher than mine. "Let me go! I have to…I have to…I need to help her."

"This world is just ones and zeros. THOSE particular ones and zeroes will keep you from her, no matter how many times you swing your blade."

"But I have to try! At least you know you can get to Asuna! For all we know, freeing her won't free the rest, and Liz will never wake up!"

"Don't say that." At that, I plunged my elbow into his abdomen, knocking me free from his arms, and spinning around.

"I will say whatever I goddamn want! She's in danger, and I can't do shit!"

"But swinging wildly won't help anything! We have to go up the only way the game will let us. Through the World Tree."

"We don't even know that Asuna is there! Sogou could have spread that picture around the Internet, just to taunt you!" Yui shot out of Kirito's pocket, and started pushing against the height barrier.

"She's here. I can sense her player ID. Mommy! Mommy, it's me!"

"All we have right now is hope. We hope that we can get Liz out by freeing Asuna."

"And if we can't? What do I do then? Wave you and your future wife goodbye, and stay by my comatose girlfriend's side?"

"We both know I won't let you do that."

"Do I? Because I seem to be getting ignored a lot lately. I mean, I don't like constant limelight, but it'd be nice to get a thanks once in a while." Suddenly, a card floated down from the sky, passing through the height barrier, and landing in Kirito's hands. He stared at it, before glancing at Yui.

"This has no window, Yui. Can you see what it is?" She floated down from the height barrier, and looked at it.

"This is a System Admin access code."

"Then we can use it to access the GM controls?"

"No…You need the appropriate console to access it from within the game. Even I can't bring up the system menu."

"I see. Well, something like this wouln't just fall from the sky. This is a message. From Asuna." Kirito glanced at me. "I'm sorry you feel that way. But we have bigger issues right now. You should understand that."

I sighed. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Thanks, Kirito."

"We should probably get back to Leafa."

"Yeah."

(X)

We got to the inn, to find Leafa in tears. "Leafa?" Kirito asked. "What's wrong?"

"Um…Um, Kirito…I…I…I have a broken heart…" I sat next to her, and Kirito sat on her other side. "I'm sorry. Saying this to people I just met. It's against etiquette to bring real world problems."

"Wheter here or in the real world, you can cry when it hurts. There's no rule that you can't show feelings just because it's a game," he said. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and the tears flowed out like tiny rivers. After a while, her gasps for air between cries turned to small breaths, and then they steadied. Her tears stopped as she wiped her eyes.

"Thanks, guys. You two are pretty nice, you know?"

"Aw, you're just saying that," I said jokingly.

"People often say the exact opposite about me," said Kirito. "Want to log out for today? I think we can make the rest of the way ourselves."

"No…I've come this far. I'll go the rest of the way. Now, let's go!"

(X)

"Where is the gate that leads inside the World Tree?" asked Kirito, staring intently ahead.

"Well, it's in the dome at the tree's base…B-But you can't get in! It's protected by guardians, and even the biggest raids couldn't break through!" Kirito didn't seem to hear anything other than the location as he plucked Yui off his shoulder and placed her in his pocket, along with the access card.

"I have to go anyway…" He took her hand. "Thank you so much for everything. Seth and I can handle it from here." He squeezed her hand tightly, before taking off. I spread my wings, and she grabbed my belt.

"You're not going with him, are you?"

"Can't afford not to, if he breaks through. Thanks for the help." I took off, leaving Leafa behind, and catching up with Kirito.

"Are you sure about this, Daddy?" asked Yui, who had escaped from his pocket. "The information we've gathered so far indicates that breaking in through the gate will be extremely difficult."

"Our only choice is to try," he said. "Even if we fail, it won't cost our lives."

"That's true, but…"

"And if I have to waste another second just standing around, I'm going to go insane," he said, landing and folding his wings. I landed beside him. "And you want to see Mommy soon, right?"

"Yes." He stepped forward, drawing the massive blade on his back. I drew my bow. If the guardians were as plentiful as Leafa had described, I wanted to be in the back picking them off. We stepped to the door, and two stone swords crossed in front of them.

"You who know not the heights of heaven…Do you desire passage to the castle of the king?" asked one of the stone statues holding the swords. Kirito and I got a pop-up, asking if we wanted the quest. 'I'm coming to get you, Rika,' I thought as I hit the circle. "Then show that you are worthy of letting your wings take flight," the statue said, removing their swords as the door opened.

"Yui, keep your head down."

"We have an attack plan?" I asked.

"Here's my plan. Attack." I grinned, and we sprinted into the darkness.

After a second, the room lit up. Inside, it looked like the dome had been woven out of roots, with countless man-sized diamonds sewn in. At the top, was a door made of 4 triangles. Kirito spread his wings, crouching down. "Screw it," I said, shrugging my bow back on my shoulder, grabbing my blades and mimicking his position. He took off, with a loud battle cry, and I flew up. One of the diamonds glowed as an armored knight with black wings emerged. He readied his blade, but Kirito quickly sliced him to ribbons. One spawned in front of me, but I plunged my hidden blade into the top of his head, pushing off his skull for added momentum. Then, all of them started glowing. I sliced right, left, down, and up. I stabbed, bashed, and fired countless arrows. We were actually doing really well, and I thought we were actually going to make it. Then, the guardians brought out their bows, and we were done for. There had to be a thousand archers, and we ALMOST made it past them. Then they started firing swords. As we turned into Remain Lights, I sighed, ready to console Kirito when we spawned back at the inn. Suddenly, I was snatched up. Leafa has swooped in, picking up my Remain Light from the ground, and snatching Kirito's from the air. She quickly flew back out, dodging Guardians, and settled outside the doors. She selected something from her inventory, and dripped it onto me, then Kirito. Our bodies reappeared as the item did it's job. Kirito smiled, putting his hands over hers.

"Thank you, Leafa."

"I d-didn't-,"

"But don't do things like that. I'm fine. I don't want to cause you anymore trouble."

"Trouble?! I…"

Kirito stood up, and walked past her, but I stopped him. "That room is not meant to be beaten."

"How do you know?"

"How do you defeat an enemy?"

"You…Kill them?"

"No. The whole point of a battle is to scare the other guy into calling it a day. But when your enemy won't, or in this case, can't, be scared, then, yes you have to kill them. We can't kill all of them, because they KEEP RE-SPAWNING. They come back faster than we can kill them. There is no way in hell that the two of us are going to beat it!"

"You may be right…"

"I AM right."

"But I have to go." Suddenly, Leafa was leaning on the back of his shoulder.

"Stop…Just stop this," she whimpered. "Go back to being your normal self. I…I…To me, you're…"

"Leafa…" he reached back, and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry. If I don't make it up there, nothing will end. And nothing will begin. I have to see her again…I have to see Asuna again."

"What…What did you just say?"

"Right, Asuna. That's the name of the person I'm looking for."

She recoiled from his shoulder, slowly stepping back. "But then…Then…That's…Is that you, Brother?" I stepped back.

"Sugu? Suguha?"

Her hand was covering her mouth, and she moved them to her eyes. "This isn't fair…It isn't…"

"S-Sugu?" She pushed away his hand, and hit log out. "Sugu!"

"What just happened?" I asked.

"Leafa was my sister, Suguha."

"What did she mean, it isn't fair?"

"I have no idea."

"Go to her. I'm going to do some more planning on this room." Kirito nodded, and hit log out.

(X)

After about an hour, Kirito was back, a strange look on his face. "Well?" I asked.

"C'mon."

"What happened?"

"You don't want to know. Now, follow me. We're going to the North Terrace."

(X)

After a while of standing on the floating platform, Leafa showed up. "Hey," said Kirito.

"Here I am."

"Sugu," started Kirito, but Leafa held her hand up.

"Brother, let's have a duel. Let's finish what we started." She crouched down, drawing her sword.

"This time, no handicaps," he said, flicking his giant sword out of it's sheath. She lunged forward, and he sidestepped. He tried to slice at her back, but she was already gone, wings spread, and in the air. He leaped up after her, and hovered up just to watch. She landed on a floating platform, raising her sword, and Kirito landed on another one below her. She jumped off of hers, and he flew off of his. They converged in midair, and…she dropped her sword. She went limp as her blade spiraled into the distance, and Kirito caught her falling form. I tuned out the conversation that they had as they floated. This wasn't mine to hear.

We found Recon in Arun, and dragged him to the dome. "Wh-What's going on?" he asked.

"We're raiding the World Tree. Those two, you, and me. The four of us."

"A-All right…Wait, what?!"

"Yui, are you here?" asked Kirito. The fairy appeared in a burst of light.

"What is it, Daddy?"

"Did you learn anything from our fight with the guardians?"

"Pretty much what Seth discovered. Their individual stats aren't very high. But there are too many, and the game spawns them at a higher rate as the player gets closer to the door, until no one could take them all out. I have to assume that completion of this quest was never meant to be possible."

"So, together, they all add up to a single, unbeatable boss?"

"However, with you and Seth's skill stats, it may be possible to break through with pure speed."

"Everyone," said Kirito. "I'm sorry to ask, but could you help me with my problem again?"

"It's not just your problem," I said, brandishing my tomahawk. "Let's finish this."

"Somehow, I feel like there isn't much time left," he responded.

"I'll do whatever I can," said Leafa. "And so will he," she said, nudging Recon.

"Well, Leafa and I are always together," he said, before she punched the back of his head.

"Don't be stupid!"

"I'm sorry…" Leafa smiled, before extending her hand to Kirito.

"Let's do our best," she said. Recon hurriedly placed both his hands over hers. I stepped forward and put my hand over his, Kirito did the same, and Yui landed on the top.

"Thanks, you three. We'll draw the guardians away. If you can heal us from the rear, you shouldn't be in danger." We broke away, and he walked to the door. "Let's do this."

Inside the dome again, I was slowly floating up alongside Kirito, listening to Leafa and Recon's chanting. The guardians swarmed, and we charged. Kirito sliced a hole in the horde, and I dived through, driving my tomahawk into the nearest head. One swung at me from above, and I ducked to the left, shooting back up, and dragging my blades across it's throat. Dozens charged at us, and we cut them down. But there were too many, and more appearing all the time. We charged, slicing a path. "There's no end to them!" shouted Kirito. Swords were stabbed into me, and I felt REALLY tingly as the game sent messages to my brain. Then, I was healed by Recon's spell, and my health shot back up. Suddenly, they started targeting them.

"Kirito! They use a different targeting system! They're attacking Leafa and Recon!" I shouted as I cut through another one. Suddenly, Recon was there, slicing through guardians with magic. He flew up into the dome the guardians had formed, and started chanting.

"That's dark magic," Leafa muttered. We heard Recon scream, and then he exploded. It blasted a hole in their ranks, and I flew through. I was now on top of the dome, pounding on the door. Kirito didn't make it through, however, and the hole was covered by guardians. I pelted them with arrows until they got close, then began slicing and dicing. I fought my way to a break, and pounded on the door.

"I'm here! Open up!" The door didn't budge, and then I heard a roar. The guardians swarmed at something, and I could see through gaps in their ranks. Sylphs and Cait Siths were filing in, attacking the guardians. The Cait Sith were RIDING DRAGONS! Which, in addition to being cool as shit, caused the roar I'd heard.

"Sorry we're late!" shouted Sakuya.

"Just glad you could make it," I shouted through the guardians, slicing their ranks from behind.

"Dragoons, ready breath attack!"

"Sylphs, prepare additional offensives!" The guardians swarmed.

"Fire breath! Go!" The dragons spewed fire that was so precise, it looked like lasers, and they tore through the horde.

"Fenrir storm, fire!" The sylphs fired lasers of their own out of their swords, which created huge gaps in their ranks. "ALL FORCES, CHARGE!" the leaders shouted together. I ducked under two overhead strikes as my attention diverted. I rose up on the other side as the swords locked with each other, and I stabbed my hidden blade into the back of one's neck, my tomahawk into the head of the other one. They both shattered as Kirito shot through their forces. He had his sword in one hand, and Leafa's katana in the other.

"Come on!"

"The door won't open!" I shouted back, parrying a strike, and stabbing the attacker.

"YUI! Analysis!"

The fairy floated up, placing her hand on the door, and gasped. "This door isn't locked by a quest flag. It's locked by the system administrators."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Players were never meant to be able to open this door!" And suddenly, it all clicked.

"Kirito! Give her the card!" Kirito pulled the card from his pocket, and handed it to Yui. Yui tapped it, extracting the code as the card evaporated. I floated up as she pushed on the door, and it glowed black, and yellow lines spread everywhere as it grudginly opened.

"It's going to teleport me! Daddy, Seth! Your hands!" I grabbed her tiny hand with two fingers, retracting my hidden blade, and keeping my tomahawk ready. Kirito grabbed her arm as we all glowed, and disappeared.

We appeared in a stark white, slightly glowing corridor. I glanced down, and Yui had returned to her child form. "Where are we?" asked Kirito.

"I don't know. There's no mapping data."

"Do you know where Asuna is?" he asked.

"She's close. Very close." She started to glow yellow, and her eyes flew open to reveal those had turned gold as well. She leapt to her feet. "This way!" Kirito shot to his feet, and I followed both of them. Then, she stopped, and threw her hands on a random section of wall. It glowed slightly, before a circle cut out of it, revealing another hallway. She shot into it, and Kirito jumped after her. I ran down it, watching as she shoved another door into oblivion. It cracked and splintered, and then…We were outside again. We were on a branch, a path cut into the wood.

"This is the top of the World Tree?" asked Kirito. "Theres no Floating City up here…Some Grand Quest! Everything was a lie!" He tensed, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Get to Asuna, and then we'll deal with Sogou. This invoves my employers, personally, so he will be dealt with. Promise." He nodded, grabbed Yui's hand, and raced down the path as I trailed after him. We could see the cage around the corner, and I saw the hunched figure of a fairy in it. We got to the door.

"Mommy!" shouted Yui. Asuna raised her head, and stared at the three of us. "Mommy!" she shouted again. Tears started welling up in her eyes, and she covered her mouth to cover her whimpering sounds. "Mommy!" she shouted again, dispelling the door with a wave of her hand, and running to her. I leaned on the side of the door as Kirito stepped forward.

"Yui!" she shouted, enveloping her daughter in a hug.

"Mommy…" Yui said softly. Asuna looked up, wiping her eyes.

"Kirito," she said, the word barely making it past her lips.

"Asuna," he said, going to her. "I'm sorry I'm late," he said.

"No, I knew…I knew you'd come to save me."

They stayed like that for a while, before Kirito pulled his head back. "Now, let's go home."

"Yeah," she said.

"Yui, can you log out Asuna?"

"Mommy's status is locked down by complicated codes. We'll need a system console to dispel them."

"I think I saw one in the lab," Asuna said. Suddenly, Kirito spun around, and I did the same, drawing my blades. The ground appeared to fall out from under us, and we were all dragged down by an impossibly powerful force. My side was pressed against the floor as even Kirito was brought to the ground.

"Yui, what is this?" he asked, as the floor dissolved. But we were still being pressed against it, except, it was now just a black void. Yui started crackling with purple electricity.

"Daddy! Mommy!" she screamed. "Be careful…Something bad is coming." Then, she dissolved.

"Yui!" shouted Kirito and Asuna. He reached towards her, and their hands stretched. But she was slammed into the ground, just before the connection could be formed. I forced myself onto my elbows and knees, as a voice began to speak.

"What a surprise…I didn't expect to see cockroaches in my little bird's cage."

"You're…Sugou?" Kirito asked the green form that appeared next to him. It was a blonde, with green wings, and a crown.

Sugou wagged his finger, scolding Kirito like a parent to a misbehaving child. "I'd prefer you not use that name in this world. Call me His Highness, Fairy King Oberon!" he shouted the last word, stamping Kirito onto the ground.

"Kirito!" shouted Asuna.

"Well?" shouted Sugou, rubbing his foot on the back of Kirito's head. "This is gravity magic, coming out in the next patch. Maybe it's a little overpowered?"

"Stop it…you coward!" shouted Asuna.

"That said, Kirigaya…or do you prefer Kirito? How did you get up here? I saw a strange program running." Sugou was now brandishing Kirito's sword.

"I flew with these wings…" Kirito muttered through bared teeth, spreading his wings as he did so.

"It doesn't matter. I can just ask your mind directly."

"What?" he asked.

"You really didn't think I set this entire thing up for fun, did you? Three hundred former SAO players…Thanks to their cooperation, the fundamental technology for emotion and thought control is already 80% complete."

"Thanks," I said. "That's all I needed to hear." He marched over to me, effortlessly pulling my tomahawk from my belt.

"I'll achieve what no one ever has, control of the human soul! The power of a god! And soon, that power will be mine! Three cheers for virtual reality!" While Sugou was distracted, I winked to Kirito, signaling him to play along with what I was about to do.

"If I may ask, King Oberon, how did you accomplish such a magnificent achievement?" As much as it pained me to do so, Sugou was attracted to power. I was going to have to feed his ego to get my questions answered.

"By performing experiments on those I took from SAO of course! By discovering how they reacted to certain dreaming stimuli, I could map the human brain!"

"But surely there will be someone who wishes to stop your brilliant plan?"

"Are you kidding? The US has already placed an offer on my technology!" I silently made a vow to reprimand our intelligence gatherers in the US government. "Now, before I begin altering your souls, let's have a fun party!" He snapped, and chains flew from the void, landing in front of Asuna. Sugou clamped the shackles on them to her wrists.

"You bastard, what are you…" Kirito muttered. Sugou looked back, a crazed look in his eye as he pointed straight up. The chains retracted some, hoisting Asuna into the air by her wrists.

"YES!" Sugou shouted, and the entire realm trembled. "Great! I love it! NPC women can't make that face…" Sugou walked over, and sniffed her hair. 'This guy is fucking sick!' I thought. "I love this smell," he said. "Replicating your scent from the real world was hard. I hope you appreciate how much work it took to get an analyzer into your hospital room…"

"Stop it," said Kirito, rising to his hands and knees. I felt the gravity weaken as Sugou's attention became divided, and struggled to my hands as well. "Sugou!" he shouted, struggling to push himself to his feet.

"My, my…You two need to stay on the ground…Writhing!" he shouted, kicking Kirito across the face, and he toppled back onto the ground. Sugou raised Kirito's sword above his head…And plunged it into his body. It pierced his back, and pressed through whatever supported us. It went down to it's handle into his back. "System command! Change pain absorber from level 10 to level 8." Instantly, Kirito writhed, as his brain felt the system had been blocking. "Hurts, doesn't it? I'll gradually let the pain increase, so you have something to look forward to." He strolled over to me, and lazily impaled my tomahawk into my lower back. I remembered my training on resisting torture from the Farm, as pain signals overloaded my brain. I somehow steadied my breathing, and my limbs quit thrashing. "Of course, below level 3, it will start to affect your physical body. Now, then…" he continued with Asuna, trailing his fingers up her skin. She twisted under his touch, trying to get away from him.

"Stop it, Sugou…" Kirito strained to say.

"I'm okay, Kirito. This won't hurt me," she said, somehow putting on a smile.

"That's what I hoped you'd say…" Sugou said, and insane look on his face. "How long will you maintain your pride? Thirty minutes? An hour? Try to hold onto it as long as you can!" My eyes shot away as Sugou ripped off the top of her clothes. "Shall I tell you what I have in mind?" he asked, circling her hanging form. "Once I've had my fun here, I'll go to your hospital room. I'll play a recording of today on a big monitor, and we can enjoy ourselves. With your real body." I struggled onto my elbows at those words, trying to rise to my feet.

"Sugou! You bastard!" shouted Kirito, thrashing under his sword. I couldn't see what Sugou was doing, but Kirito could. And it was destroying him. "You bastard, I'll kill you! I'm going to kill you!"

Suddenly, Kirito rose up on his sword, rising his body higher onto his blade. "Your attacks have no soul…" he muttered. "The blades in that world hit harder…They hurt far more!" he shouted, and we pushed off the ground at the same time. I pried the axe from my back and the sword Kirito was impaled with fell out.

"I guess some odd bugs are still left," said Sugou, before trying to slap Kirito. Kirito's hand shot out, grabbing Sugou's wrist.

"System login…ID Heathcliff." Blue windows hovered around Kirito as Sugou panicked.

"Wh-What? What is that ID?!"

"System command. Enable administrator privileges. Set Oberon to level 1." Sugou flashed yellow as his level was reset.

"Your ID outranks mine? That's impossible! I am the ruler! The creator!" I felt the gravity spell dissipate, and I walked next to Kirito.

"Go to her. I got this fucker." Kirito thought for a moment, before adding one last command.

"System command. Set pain absorber to Level Zero. Have fun." He grinned at me, punched Sugou in the face and rushed to Asuna's side. Sugou was holding his wounded face when I walked over and threw him onto the other side of the void.

"Sugou Nobuyuki. You are guilty of the following crimes. Kidnap of 300 minds. Torture. Attempted virtual rape. Theft. Fraud. You stole this world, and it's people from someone infinitely times smarter than you could ever hope to be. You attempted to play God in a world that wasn't yours. And, whether you knew it or not, you took up the Templar Ideals. You attempted to control the entire world, for a price of course. Now, I sentence you and your avatar, The Former Fairy King Oberon, to death." I swiped at his head, and he tried to dodge left. My blade glanced his cheek, and he recoiled, hand clutching his wound.

"THAT HURT!" he shouted. I chucked. He tried to punch me in the head, and I grabbed his arm with my left hand, extending my hidden blade into his elbow, then hacked the arm off at the shoulder. He screamed, writhing in pain he could dish out, but couldn't take. I kicked him in the chest, and he fell on his backside. I crouched over him, and brought my tomahawk down onto his skull. He screamed. And then he was gone. I'd killed the fairy king.

I turned back to Kirito, who was comforting Asuna after her horrifying experience. "Kirito. I'll be by your house in ten minutes. Be ready." I slid through my menu, and hit log out.

(X)

A few minutes later, I pulled up outside his house on the motorcycle. I knocked on the door, and Suguha answered. "You're my brother's friend from ALO, aren't you?" I nodded. "

I'm here to get Kazuto." She smiled, and nodded. Kirto came outside, throwing on a jacket.

"What's this?"

"I thought you could use a ride to Asuna's hospital. Which one is it?" He gave me directions, and it turned out to be the one Rika was at. I threw him my other helmet, and he caught it.

"You'll never believe what happened after you left."

"Knock yourself out. We've got a few minutes on the way," I said, slipping on my helmet. I yanked the throttle, and the motorcycle sped off into the darkness.

(X)

We pulled up to the parking lot, after Kirito told me about the Seed. It sounded strange, but it thought Kirito should choose to let it germinate, if for nothing else just to see what it was. We got off the bike, when a dark figure tackled me. I felt a sharpness in my shoulder, and a warm feeling running down my arm. Then, the weight was gone, and I checked my arm. It was bleeding, and the hole indicated I'd just been stabbed, but there didn't appear to be any serious muscle damage. "You two are late, Kirito. Corsi." I flicked my hidden blade out, as Kirito gave a yelp of pain. Sugou readied his knife from the shadows. "What if I'd caught a cold?"

"You…" muttered Kirito. I noticed that Sugou was holding his knife only in his left hand, his right arm laying limp by his side.

"That was a horrible thing you did, Corsi. I can still feel the pain.

"Sugou, you're finished," said Kirito. "Turn yourself in, and stand trial."

"What's finished?" asked Sugou. "There are plenty of companies that would still want me. Yes, once my research is complete, I can become a true king. True god of this world."

"You…" Kirito muttered.

"But first, I'm going to kill you both." He charged at me, and I sidestepped. I stepped back, and I slipped on the ice, falling on my side. Kirito had tried to charge at Sugou, but he'd tripped Kirito, and he'd fallen on Sugou's other side. Sugou kicked me in the stomach. "Stand up! Pieces of trash like you, slowing me…Slowing me down!" He raised his knife. "Naturally, the punishment for that is death. Nothing but death will be acceptable!" He stabbed down, but the knife hit the pavement. "Oh, my head still is wracked with pain. So I missed."

"Gee," I said between ragged breaths. "I wonder what caused that."

He stood up, and kicked my side again, then went to Kirito. "You! You don't have any real power! Die, trash!" he screamed, slamming the knife down, then Kirito rose up, grabbing his wrist, and stopping the blade. He rose up, punching the guy's throat, knocking him back. I glanced at Kirito, who had stolen Sugou's knife.

"A weak weapon…" he muttered. "It's light, without any reach. But it's more than enough to kill you!" Sugou retreated as I struggled to rise to my feet, fighting the urge to puke. Kirito picked the guy up, slamming him against the van I'd parked next to. Kirito placed the knife at his neck, before I stopped him.

"Kirito, don't do this."

"He deserves this!"

"I know he does. But is it what Asuna would want?"

"You would do it!"

"Do you really want to be like me?" I asked. Kirito stared at me for a second, before glancing down at the trembling man below. He thought, before dropping the blade. Then, Sugou fainted, tipping to the side.

(X)

We stood in the elevator, and I pushed the button for 47, after Kirito hit 12. Kirito stood at the door. "Thanks. You could have left me at any point, and you didn't. I owe you."

"No. You don't. Because as fun as all this was, we both know I didn't do it for you." I grinned, before the door shut.

I got out when the elevator hit 47, I rushed out of the elevator before the doors had opened all the way. I sprinted down the hall, and swiped the card I'd taken from the lobby. The door clicked open, and suddenly I froze. I managed to take a step forward, and then another one. I finally rounded the curtain, and there she was. She was lying back on the bed, struggling to raise her thin arms to take the NerveGear off. "Hey," I said. She'd stopped, her arms and the helmet obscuring her face.

"Hello."

"Here, let me." I sat next to the bed, and gently removed the NerveGear. Her usually shoulder length pink hair spilled out, reaching down to her waist, and was a deep, dark brown.

"Thank you," she said, slowly lowering her arms. She revealed thin eyebrows, brown eyes that were refusing to look at me, and a small mouth with thin lips.

"Do you remember anything?"

"No. I remember going to sleep after you left for the boss fight. Now, here you are." I grinned.

"Yeah. Here I am." She finally decided to look at me, her eyes trailing from my feet, up my body, then meeting my eyes. I smiled, and she managed to sit up, despite my protests. "You just spent 2 years in bed. Lie back down."

"I'm fine." She pulled her legs over the edge of the bed, spreading her arms. I relented, pulling her in for a hug.

"I missed you. So much," I choked out, tears threatening to appear in my eyes. I pulled back, my hands on her shoulders.

"We haven't been properly introduced," she said, smiling. "Hello. My name is Shinozaki Rika."

I grinned. "Hello, Rika. My name is Seth Corsi."

"Hello, Seth," she said, grinning wide. "So, are you as good of a boyfriend in real life as you were in SAO?" I laughed.

"I'd like to think so."

"Well, we might have to start over. We HAVE just met, you know," she said, grinning.

"I'm…I'm in love with you," I said. I'd been thinking about it ever since I'd gotten out of the game, and when I saw her lying there the first time, I promised I'd tell her.

She faltered for a second, before smiling. "I love you too." I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, then let out a small laugh. We sat there for a while, just enjoying being in each other's presence again. Then, she leaned forward slightly, and kissed me. The first time it'd happened, it had felt like God just punched me in the face. But SAO's version was a poor excuse to the real thing.

(X)

I was standing outside the SAO school. I'd been waiting for Rika's lunch hour. The school let me in, since, in addition to being a survivor myself, I was, and I quote, 'A good influence on Rika.' I pulled my hidden blade off my wrist, and stowed it in the saddlebag on my motorcycle. I walked inside as the bell rang. I walked the halls to the cafeteria, and sat down at the table next to the window. Rika pulled up the chair next to me, kissing me on the cheek, and saying a quick "Hi!" before digging into her lunch.

"So am I coming back to take you to the meeting with the others?" I asked. She gave a quick nod, her lips clamped around the straw of a juice box. "Alright, but if you try to repeat that 'joke' from last week, you are never riding with me again," I said jokingly, as a girl named Ayano Keiko, AKA Silica, sat across from Rika.

"It wasn't that bad," she defended.

"We almost crashed!"

"Yeah, but it was fun!" she said, grinning and clinging to my arm.

"You're lucky you're cute."

"You two shouldn't be acting like that at school," said Ayano.

"You shouldn't be watching," said Rika, jokingly.

"Are you coming, Ayano?"

"Of course! And, please, call me Keiko." I shrugged.

(X)

That afternoon, I was sitting on my motorcycle outside Rika's school, and the bell rang. A minute later, Rika came running out of the school, and put on my other helmet. I revved the engine, and we took off. A while later, we arrived at the street which connected to the alley where Agil's shop was located. I flicked the kickstand out, and Rika began yanking on my arm. "C'mon! We have to get there before Kirito and Asuna!"

"I'm coming! Let me get my helmet off at least," I said, activating the GPS tracer in the bike's inner mechanisms, something I'd installed as an anti-theft device. Well, less anti-theft, more steal-my-bike-and-I'll-track-you-down device. I pulled my helmet off, and raced after her retreating figure. I pried open the wooden door that was just shutting when I got there, and slipped inside. Despite hurrying here, I'd been the last to arrive. Liz had a few sodas in her hand, and handed me one. I cracked it open and chugged it down. I'd been tailing a Templar hit-man all afternoon, and hadn't been able to stop for a drink. A few minutes later, the door was cracked open, to reveal Kirito, Asuna, and Suguha.

"Hey, now…We're aren't late," said Kirito.

Rika raced up to him, placing her hands on her hips. "The stars of the show always turn up last. So we told you a slightly later time. Come on in." She dragged him inside, and shoved him up on a box. "Let's have a cheer, everyone. Ready!"

"Kirito," I said, along with everyone else. "Congratulations on beating SAO!" The ones at the front exploded several party favors and covered him in confetti and streamers. I almost bust out laughing, as the horrified look on his face was priceless. Silica handed him a drink, and started a cheer.

(X)

I'd been standing at the back, and saw Kirito order a bourbon. I went to intercept the drink, but it turned out to be tea, anyway. I sat on his left, and Klein sat on his right. "Agil," he said. "Give me a real one."

"Sure about that, Klein?" asked Kirito. "Aren't you going back to work after this?"

"Can't pull overtime without alcohol," he said, downing a sip. "And…" he said, looking at the girls, who had gathered in the back. I got up, and went over to hear Rika mention my name.

"Do I want to know why you're talking about me?" I asked, slipping into the seat next to Rika.

"We were just talking about the Seed."

"And why was my name caught up in that?"

"Rika was talking about the world you made," said Asuna.

"Oh, that." I'd created a world using the Seed software, but it was more of a training simulator than something that would be a VRMMO. It was a neat little thing that I enjoyed playing around with, but it would probably just be me. "Well, anyway, are we still meeting tonight for the after-party?" I asked Silica, Asuna and Rika.

"Yeah. I heard from Agil we meet in Yggdrasil City at 11-o-clock."

(X)

I'd converted back to my SAO character, my avatar resembling my body once more. I kept the cloak I'd made in ALO, though. I liked it better than the white trench coat I'd had before. Liz and I were in the air, floating as we watched the enormous Castle Aincrad float down from the sky. We soared up past Kirito and Leafa, who had gathered above all of us. Everyone was here. Salamanders, Sylphs, Cait Sith, and SAO survivors. A few months ago, this would have been unheard of, but since the Grand Quest was proved to be a lie, the grand rivalries between the races had descended into friendly competition. "Come on, guys!" I shouted, holding Liz's hand as we soared past them.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Authors Note: Ok, the beginning of this is just Fluff. I've marked the end of it if you're just reading this for the story.**

I really hate getting up early. Yet there I was, driving a motorcycle across Tokyo. In my swim trunks. Liz and I arrived at our destination, and she hopped off the bike. "It was really good of you to come help us."

"Yeah, well. I just don't want you three drowning the poor girl."

"Oh, please. We weren't going to go that far," she said, taking my arm and leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Well, now we'll never know," I replied, walking towards the park. I nodded at Keiko, and gave a smile to Asuna when Liz jumped off my arm to talk to them. We were all waiting on Kirito. And Suguha. Mainly Suguha.

"Did you do your homework?" asked Rika.

"Not yet…"replied Keiko. I almost laughed. Liz hadn't done hers either. She'd just tricked me into giving her the answers.

"You'd better hurry up, or summer break will be over," said Asuna.

"Ah, Suguha!" shouted Keiko. The pair broke the tree-line, walking into view. I gave a nod to Kirito as they walked up. "Kirito!"

"I'm sorry to make you all come out here…" said Suguha.

"Oh, it's fine. But it's kind of strange. You seem like you'd be really good at sports."

"Water's the one thing I'm not good with, both in real life and in the game."

"Still," said Liz, "it's a perfect day for the pool, and you have emergency counseling. Bad luck for you," she gestured at Kirito.

"Yeah…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "First quarter, I tried pretty hard."

"Too bad you won't get to see us in our swimsuits," said Liz, smirking.

"Too bad you don't get to see me in my swimsuit," he responded. "You'd leave Seth in a heartbeat, if you saw these muscles." I laughed.

"I'm really not worried about that," I said. "Besides, the only reason I'm here is because the school won't let them use the pool without a lifeguard. If you know anyone else who's CPR certified, I'll be more than happy to go home."

"But don't get too attracted to that pretty counselor," Liz said.

"O-Oh, come on…why not?" he said, stuttering. I raised an eyebrow, and jerked my head at Asuna.

"Kirito," she said slowly.

"Bye!" he said, racing off. "Sugu, be sure to practice hard, since everyone's being nice enough to teach you."

"Right!"

"Compared to the ALfheim Sea, the school pool is really shallow," said Asuna. "So let's have fun while we practice. Kirito! Bye!" His retreating figure held up a hand in a wave.

"Tell that pretty counselor hello for me!" shouted Liz. Then he stumbled. I laughed along with the girls as he raced towards the school. We walked towards the pool, with me listening, and the girls bantering on about who like who and such. The girls went in the locker room to change, but I was already wearing my trunks so I just tossed my shirt to the side and jumped in. They came out a few minutes later. Liz was wearing a purple one-piece, Suguha had on the bland school swimsuit, Keiko was wearing a two-piece thing, and Asuna was wearing a bikini. Pretty much everyone but Asuna stared as I pulled myself out of the pool.

"What's everyone looking at?"

"I thought you'd have more…muscles." Liz said.

"Oh, shut up." Liz grinned, and pushed me back in the pool. "Ah-!" My cry of panic was cut short as I went under the pool. Then I held my breath. Navy Seals were trained to hold their breath for up to 4 minutes. I could hold mine for 7. I only had to stay under for 2 before they started to panic. Liz jumped in, and I shut my eyes and pretended to go limp. She managed to throw me onto the ledge beside the pool, and crawled out next to me. She prepared to perform CPR, when I cracked an eyelid. "Aren't I the one that's supposed to do that?"

"I hate you."

"No you don't." She grinned, and kissed me. Before shoving me back in the water. This time I came up instantly. "Ok, that's just rude. C'mon, people. Water's fine." Liz jumped in right next to me, splashing me as she came up. Keiko jumped in soon afterwards, and Asuna calmly slipped into the water. Suguha, however, appeared wearing a life preserver. Liz soon popped that, though.

"Where'd you get this thing?" she asked. "This won't help you learn how to swim!"

"No, stop…I'll sink without it!"

"Don't worry!" yelled Liz, who let go of the preserver to grab at Suguha's…chest…area. It was more awkward for me than it sounds. "You have two big, buoyant things right here. You can't sink."

"Hey, don't touch there!"

"Liz, enough!" I yelled. She grudgingly let Suguha go, and smirked at me. "What?" I asked.

"Bet you thought only boys made boob jokes."

"And you have efficiently proven me wrong. Now, can we teach the girl how to swim without drowning her?"

"He's right," said Asuna. "Let's start by having you hold your face underwater. Seth, any tricks?"

"Just don't try to do it for more than 60 seconds. Most people pass out after 120 seconds. It took me years, and I've only gotten to 7 minutes. I'd rather not have to put the CPR training to use."

(X)

At lunch, the girls started talking on the side of the pool, and I just swum around in the water, trying to get my exercise in. Suddenly, I was called over. "Seth!" I ducked underwater, and appeared at the side.

"What?"

"Suguha wants to hear about how we met Kirito," said Liz.

"Well, I'm interested in Keiko's story. But Asuna's and mine are identical. So, why did I get called over?" The girls giggled so much I thought giggling should be outlawed.

"They want to hear how we met too," said Liz.

"Ok…do you want to tell it, or do you want me to tell it?"

"Why do you think I called you over?"

"Alright, I'll tell it if you," I pointed at Asuna, "will explain Yui. I got, like, a 2 minute summary from Kirito in ALO, and I tuned out most of it."

"But I just told that story."

"Well, then fine. Liz, you owe me a summary later.

"Alright. So I went to Liz's blacksmith shop because I needed a new tomahawk, and a…" I mimed flicking my hidden blade out.

"What is it with you and that tomahawk?" asked Suguha.

"Different story. Anyway, so I walk in, and this incredibly perky girl shows up from the back. I ask for a custom made weapon, and she assumed I didn't have the money."

"I did not!"

"You totally did."

"Did not!"

"Do you want to tell it?" She remained silent. "So I was this close to telling her JUST how much Col I was carrying that day, when Kirito stormed in, asked for her to replicate an Elucidator, and then broke her best sword." Keiko started laughing, but Suguha just looked at me, then at Liz, slightly alarmed.

"Did he really do that?"

Liz snapped her fingers. "Like that!"

"So she says that if she had the metals, she could make a dozen swords that would snap his in half, and I said that I'd like one. So, of course, we go to fight a freaking dragon. I'm supposed to hide feisty over here while Kirito gets to have the fun. Then, she storms out to give him advice mid-battle!"

"It was not mid-battle! The thing was almost dead, and I was just telling Kirito to hurry up!"

"Whether it was almost dead or not, it still caused an avalanche that launched her into this HUGE pit. I catch her just before the snow hits, and catch the wall with my axe. Then, Kirito launches into the pit after us! I swung her out, and she grabbed his hand. Then, the axe shatters, and we fall in the pit." Keiko gasped, and Liz laughed at the memory. "So, when I wake up, Kirito hits me with a health potion, literally, and then tries to run up the wall. He failed, and then Liz woke up. We got out some sleeping bags to camp the night, after we find the metal we came for, which turned out to be dragon poop." Keiko recoiled, Suguha gasped, and Liz bust out laughing. "What?"

"I just realized! Kirito beat the game with a sword made of dragon poop!"

"Actually," said Asuna. I tried to signal to her to keep that quiet, but she kept speaking. "Dark Repulser broke during the battle with Kayaba." Liz seemed stunned for a moment, then rounded on me.

"Why didn't you tell me?! You just told me he beat the game! You didn't say the sword that I made broke!"

"Thanks, Asuna. So anyway, I go to try to sleep, and then Liz sets up camp right next to me. And…she asked why I saved her. And…oh what were the words? I said…I've taken lives. But sitting by, and watching someone die? Knowing you could have done something, but chose not to? That's just cruel." Liz blushed as I brought up the…interesting memory. "Then she called me an idiot."

"I did not!"

"You did! You said I was an idiot! You said, 'You would sacrifice yourself for someone you barely know?' and I said, 'Wouldn't you?'" Liz's eyebrows furrowed.

"How do you remember that? That was over a year ago."

"I…don't know." In truth, I relived those days countless times in my memories and dreams while she was asleep. "But anyway, then she asks me to hold her hand. I think that's a bit odd, but what the hell? You never did tell me why," I said, turning to Liz. She blushed.

"I…I-I wanted to be sure you were real." My eyebrows shot up.

"What? Did you think I was some cruel trick from the game?"

"It was possible to me, back then. But, the heat from your hand…that couldn't have been fake." I smiled.

"I don't blame you for doubting my existence. I thought the same. So, the dragon comes back the next morning, and it was PISSED. It swoops down, and I hide Liz and me in its shadow. We jump on its back at the same time as Kirito, and he stabs the thing. So we rode a dragon out of an abyss. Not a lot of people can say that," I said. "Then, when we got to the top, the thing flung us all off of it. And we're soaring through the air, and Liz yells something to me."

"I thought you didn't hear that!"

"Max listening skill. Nothing gets past these babies," I said patting my ears. "So, she yells, 'I like you!' at the top of her lungs. But, like her, I still wasn't sure if the game wasn't playing tricks on me. So I yell back, 'What?' and she says it's nothing! So, we use the teleport crystals to get back to Lindas, and Liz makes the Dragon Poop sword. And then, she asks Kirito for her to be his exclusive smith, in exchange for the sword!"

"He was a good player! He was a good source of income later in the game!"

"Maybe, but I didn't know that. So, I'm thinking that I can't take many more mixed messages, when Asuna comes bursting in the door, yelling about how she couldn't find Liz anywhere! And then, I tell her about Kirito breaking Liz's best sword, and we both round on him! We made fun, and we teased, and all that junk. Then I turn back, and Liz is leaving. She said she had to go get some materials for my weapons, but that was total BS."

"That was a well thought out lie!"

"No, it wasn't! With your blacksmithing skill, you only needed the ingots, some wood, and some simple metals! So, I see some tears starting to well up, so I follow her. And I find her sitting next to a river, crying. And she says, 'You're not supposed to be here. Another minute and I would have gone back to my cheery self.' And I say, 'I don't care if you can't stay happy. I want to know what made you sad.' And she asks why. Then I said…"

"So I know who to stab in the face," piped up Liz. "Still the most romantic thing any guy has ever said to me."

"Love you too," I said. "So it turns out, she thought that you," I pointed at Asuna, "and I were a couple, because of how we knew to get to Kirito easily. And I say that Asuna's not my type. And she asks what my type was. I say, 'Cute. Blacksmith. Pink hair,' and suddenly she stiffened, so I'm thinking 'See what you did? You screwed it up,' so I try to recover. Then…she kissed me." I smiled, Liz blushed, and the others giggled. "That's…that's about it."

"No! It's not! Tell them about the poison! Tell them about the pumpkin seeds!" Liz shouted.

"What is this, Battle of the Boyfriends?" I asked. "Because one, you said tell how we met. And two, while I've probably got Kirito beat in real life combat, and MAYBE I'm a bit smoother than him, he beat the game for Asuna. I can't say that."

"But you DID beat General Eugene!"

"Well, yeah, but Kirito could have done that. He just let me take him on. Same for Sugou."

"Yeah...but…"

"Face it. Kirito's got me beat," I said, climbing out of the water.

"Well, let's start practice again!" shouted Asuna.

"But, I just got out," I said.

"Fine, then. You wait here."

(X) END OF FLUFF

After a while, Suguha had efficiently learned how to keep herself afloat, and Kirito returned from his psych evaluation. We all went to our homes, then logged into ALO, meeting at Turle Island. I was sitting in a chair next to Klein and Kirito. "You know, Kirito, I've never been so happy that ALO's time isn't linked to the real world," said Klein.

"In the real world, isn't it night?" he asked.

"This is how to enjoy the ocean," Klein shouted, leaning forward in his chair. "Blue skies."

"White sand," Kirito said.

"The sound of waves," Klein responded.

"The dazzling sun," Kirito suggested.

"And…" Their eyes flicked to the girls playing in the water, when Egil landed in front of us.

"Hey, I'm here," he said. We were staring at the muscly guy, who was only wearing the ALO equivalent to a speedo. The rest of us were wearing decent length shorts, so this was very strange. "What's with you three?"

"I'm putting my whole STR stat into this," I heard Liz say from the ocean, and the amount of splashing sounds increased.

"I won't lose," Silica shouted. "Pina, water breath!" The dragon, which Yui was riding, sucked up water from the ocean.

"I think it's about, 100 meters underwater?" I heard Asuna say.

"A hundred meters?" asked Leafa. She seemed scared, until she said, "No, I'll do my best! It's for Yui."

"Thank you, Leafa."

We were doing this because Yui had said she wanted to ride a whale. Supposedly, there was a quest here in which whales spawned. "Hey, Kirito, you're sure whales are in this quest?" asked Klein. "Yui's really excited. If it turns out to be clione or jellyfish, she's gonna be really upset!"

"I'd kind of like to see a giant clione…Agil, did you hear any info?"

"Nope. It's a quest out on the world map's very edge. Hardly anyone even knows of it. But it seems to be true that a huge aquatic monster lies at its end."

"That sounds pretty promising!" shouted Klein. "Okay, let's do this! Everyone! It's about time to get going!"

"Okay, on our way!" shouted Asuna. Klein didn't take his eyes off their advancing figures, until they equipped their armor.

"Everyone…You'll be wearing that equipment during the entire quest?"

"Of course…Because we'll be fighting," said Liz. "You need to change too," pointing to our swim shorts. I slapped the back of his head as I threw on my regular equipment.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the back of his skull.

"I saw those wondering eyes," I responded, flipping up my hood.

"So everyone, I'll be your party leader for today's quest. If we see the giant whale during the quest today, follow my instructions." All the girls agreed, and he continued. "I'll repay you someday…Probably. Let's do our best everyone!"

"Yeah!" everyone else shouted. We all flew over Klein, who was on the ground crying, still in his swim shorts. We flew for a bit, before Kirito opened his menu.

"The coordinates should be around here." Klein caught up, pointing to something in the distance.

"You don't think that's it?" he asked. There was a glowing spot under the water, and Kirito nodded.

"Okay, I'll cast Water Breathing," said Asuna. She cast the spell, and we all glowed blue for a second before Kirito dived into the water. I folded my wings and did a leap of faith after him. I floated beside Liz, until we saw a villa underwater. The house had several spires, and was lit by several large green torches.

"There's someone over there!" shouted Liz, pointing. There was indeed a figure at the front of the castle.

"It's a quest NPC," said Egil.

"Underwater," said Klein. "The only people who need your help are mermaids!" He started swimming vigorously forward. "I'm coming to help you, mermaid girl!" he shouted. "Is there something I can help you with, young-," He froze when he saw that his "young lady" was actually a bearded old man.

"It isn't a young lady," said Yui. "It's an old man."

"What's wrong, sir?" asked Kirito, passing Klein, who was still on the ground, face frozen in shock. A pop-up appeared, and he hit the yes option.

"Fairies of the surface world, are you here to help this old man?"

Leafa's eyes narrowed, and Asuna noticed along with me. "What's wrong, Leafa?" she asked.

"Ah, nothing…I was just thinking I'd seen that man's name before."

"You see, thieves living in this temple," said Nerakk, the old man, "stole a present I was going to give to an old friend…I'd like you to regain it for me."

"Leave it to us," said Kirito.

"Oh, thank you," said Nerakk. "The present is a pearl, about this big." The gesture he made indicated a VERY large pearl.

"Huge!" shouted Liz.

"Seth, don't let your girlfriend try to sell it!" said Silica. I grinned, nudging Liz with my shoulder.

"I won't," she assured me. "Not this time, anyway," she whispered to me.

"Thank you, fairies. If you can get the pearl back, I'll reward you well!" 'Quest Progress' said the yellow pop-up in front of him.

"All right. Looks like our quest is to recover a missing object. But there should be monsters inside the temple. Those of you in front, remember that your weapons are slower underwater. Those at the rear, remember you can't use lightning magic."

"Or bows," I muttered. "May I say something?"

"Of course," Kirito said, gesturing to the front.

"Ok, no offense to anyone's pride, but I think we can say I'm the best at tracking. Add that to the fact that my most useful asset in combat is speed, and I think you've reached the same conclusion I did. If one of you could keep monsters off of me during large battles, I'll track the bandits." I nodded at Kirito, and he took that into the plan.

"Okay, Liz, protect your boyfriend." She grumbled, but agreed.

We walked through the hallways of the temple, fish swimming around the place. "Hey, Kirito. Leafa isn't good at fighting underwater, right?" asked Klein. "Shouldn't you help her out a little?"

"Okay, but…It's one thing if it's just the two of us, but when we're all in a party, I don't really know how to act around her."

"Just act natural…You're her big brother, so take care of her."

"But the first time I met her, I had no idea who she was…" Kirito and Klein were distracted by their conversation, so they didn't' see the whirlpool trap. They managed to quickly swim back out.

"Who walks into a trap they can see?" asked Egil. "Jeez," he said, grabbing Klein, and I grabbed Kirito's hand, pulling him out of the pit.

"And to think these guys were once among the best players SAO had to offer," said Liz.

"Its okay, Kirito," said Silica. "No matter what you're like, I still-," She was interrupted when Liz punched her arm.

"Daddy! Behind you!" shouted Yui. A blur of color shot out of the pit.

"Was that the whale?" asked Klein.

"No…" it slowed down to reveal a skulled fish. "Definitely not."

I touched a large mark on the wall. Specks of gleaming material in the scratch indicated it came from a metal weapon. "Well, it's blocking the way to the bandits."

"Prepare for combat!" I rushed forward, drawing my blade, and Kirito deflected the charge from the fish with a strike, but it wasn't damaged. "You can't damage it by hitting its head!" he shouted. "I'll draw its attention," he said, as it charged his blade. "You hit it from the sides!" I jumped up onto the creature, stabbing my hidden blade into its spine, and using it to stable myself on its bucking form. I slammed my tomahawk down on its back, again and again. It tried to swim away from me, but it was stuck on its back. I rode the thing as it created a water tornado by swimming quickly in a circle. It sucked Leafa in, and dragged her over the whirlpool. She clung to the ledge as it tried to suck her in. Suddenly Kirito was on the fish, stabbing his sword into a chink in it's armor. I retracted my hidden blade as the fish shattered, and Kirito rushed over, struggling to pull up Leafa. I ran behind him, grabbing his waist and pulling. I felt Klein's arms wrap around me and he started to pull against the whirlpool as well. I even heard Egil grunting as well. Suddenly, we all fell back, and Leafa was out of the trap.

After tracking the bandits through the temple, fighting monsters the entire way, we found the pearl nestled in a giant wooden nest. Kirito grabbed it, and I led us out of the maze of a temple. "I don't want to see shrimp or crabs for a long time…" said Klein, sitting on the stairs.

"No squid or octopi, either," agreed Egil.

"We never did see the whale," I said.

"But Yui seemed to have a great time," said Silica.

"We brought you your present back," said Kirito, handing the old man the pearl.

"This is definitely it," said the old man.

"We never saw the thieves who supposedly stole the pearl," said Liz.

"But I saw their tracks," I said.

"No, you saw metal. It might have been that fish's armor," Liz responded.

"Now that you mention it…" said Leafa. Suddenly, Asuna rushed forward.

"Kirito, wait!" She ran, taking the pearl and holding it above her head.

She held it up to the light, revealing a twitching form inside. "It's an egg," I said, walking over, enraptured.

"Are we the Deep Sea Invaders?" asked Kirito.

"Now, hand it over," said the man. I flicked my hidden blade out, snapping to attention. "If you will not hand it over, then I have no choice!" His head rose, and his eyes glowed red. His beard elongated, forming into giant tentacles. His name rippled, and changed to Kraken. "I thank you, faries. A barrier kept me out of that temple, but you retrieved the Prince's Egg from it…Now hand it over!"

"We refuse!" shouted Asuna. "We're taking the egg back to the temple."

"Foolish insects…Then I'll send you to the abyss!" One of the tentacles surged forward, slamming down onto Klein and Egil, who barely held it up. I sliced at the tentacle, but it just regenerated. More surged forward, and Liz tackled me out of the way. The shockwave knocked all 4 of us back. Just that attack had reduced my health into deep in the red zone.

"Daddy, that octopus' stats are too high! They're much higher than a New Aincrad Floor Boss!" shouted Yui. The Kraken opened it's mouth, and surged forward, but a trident dropped from the sky, stopping it's advancement.

"This trident…" said the Kraken. We all looked up to see a blue figure floating down from the upper waters. It landed on our side of the trident, revealing even more health bars than the Kraken. It was a bearded man, giant as he was, and his name was Leviathan, the Sea Lord.

"It's been a long time, my old friend. I see you're up to your old tricks," said Leviathan.

"And how long will you be satisfied as a servant to the Aesir? You're an embarrassment to the name 'King of the Sea.'"

"I am satisfied with being a king. And this is my domain. Knowing that, do you still wish to fight, King of the Depths?"

"For now, I shall withdraw. But I shall not give up, my friend! One day, I shall claim the Prince's Egg, and make the accursed gods pay! Until that day!" the Kraken shouted, leaping back into the depths.

We turned back to Leviathan, who addressed Asuna, still holding the egg. "That egg belongs to the one that will someday rule all the sea and air. I must find it a new home, so I shall take it back." His hand glowed, and the egg disappeared.

"Then, that's the end?" asked Klein. "I'm not sure what just happened."

"I couldn't follow what the old guy and the octopus were discussing at all," said Liz.

"For now, that's fine," said Leviathan. "Come, I shall return you to your own country, fairies."

"R-Return us? How?" asked Silica. A shadow passed over us all. We broke the surface RIDING A GODDAMN HUMPBACK WHALE! It was awesome!

"Whale is really, really big!" shouted Yui.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Authors Note: This marks the start of the GGO arc. Don't forget to favorite, follow, review, and enjoy.**

I'd just gotten back from the Bureau. Usually they left me alone, but when there was a Templar threat in the virtual world, they'd call me in. In this particular MMO, there was a currency system that allowed for a player to transfer in-game funds for real money. The Templars were taking advantage of this, and planned to win a huge, unarmed combat tournament, then cash in the winnings. They had filled the rosters, and since it was free, all of the winnings would be profit. I phoned Rika when I got home, riding up the elevator as her face popped up on the screen of my phone. "Hey, Seth," she said, rubbing her eyes. It was early morning, so she was just getting up. "What's up?"

"I'm going to have to transfer to another game for a bit. Just for a day or two." Rika's eyes narrowed.

"The Templars?"

"Yeah. They're trying to get some cash through a game called," I checked my mission report. "Gun Gale Online. Supposedly, it relies on guns as much as SAO relies on swords. But I'm just entering an unarmed combat tournament, and then I'll be back, alright?"

"Yeah. Go save the world."

"Thanks. I'm going into ALO in a sec to make sure my stuff is in our shared storage." She grinned again. We'd gotten married in-game a few months ago, shortly after the Underwater quest adventure. "If you want to say goodbye or something, meet me in our house."

"Okay. See you there."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up, and I slipped into my room, locking my several bolt and key locks behind me. I only used one when I was away, but while inside, I had 3 separate locks defending me, AND an electrical security system. The Assassins were paranoid and rich. Go figure. I threw my bag in the corner, placed the Amushere on my head, and got onto my bed. "Link Start!"

Liz and I's house formed around me, and I manipulated my inventory, putting all of my equipment into my inventory. It was safer than keeping it in the house, and only Liz or I could access it. I was just waiting when Liz logged in. She glanced around, and spying me, she came over. "So, you're leaving me?"

"It's just for a day or too."

"I know. I wish I could come with you."

"It's not worth it. I'm just going to kick some Templar ass, and then I'll be back."

"Fine. Put on a good show. I'll be watching." I grinned.

"Yes ma'am. See you when I'm done."

"You're making pumpkin seeds when you get back."

"Of course." I smiled, and she hugged me. She broke away, and I hit log out. I woke up back in my bed, and sat up. I flicked through my computer's files, and downloaded the GGO game from the internet. I loaded it up with my Amusphere, and put the goggles back on my head. "Link Start!"

Colors rushed past my eyes, and I spawned in a steam-punk looking city. I was a bit startled, but I shrugged it off. I'd expected for there to be a character customization screen, but whatever. I glanced in a piece of glass…and froze. I was Conner. Same long shaggy hair, same tan skin, same wide nose. My avatar looked exactly like a long dead assassin. Well. Not what I expected. I flipped up the hood on my starting uniform, and began wandering the street, looking for the tournament. Suddenly, I saw a flashing billboard. "Need cash?" it asked, showing a cartoon guy pulling out his empty pockets. "Test your skills in the 1st FistFight Tournament! Sign up in the governor general's office!" 'Well, that was easy.' "Sign-up ends at 8:00 AM." I glanced at my clock. 7:45. 'Less easy.'

"Excuse me," I asked the nearest avatar. They politely gave me directions, and I thanked them. I rented a tri-bike with my 1000 credits, which I assumed was money, and hopped on. I drove down the highway, dodging other vehicles. I hopped up the front steps, and quickly signed up, choosing the FistFight tournament over the Bullet of Bullets, whatever that was. I input my character name, and ignored the personal information slots. It placed me in the bracket, and directed me to the common area. I walked in, and it was filled with many people, most of them probably Templar soldiers. Suddenly, it hit 8:00, and I was teleported.

I appeared in an arena, the stands filled with NPC's. Across the arena, stood a heavily armed combatant. He charged at me, swinging a hay-maker. I ducked under his arm, striking at his vulnerable armpit. My fist hit his scapula, paralyzing his shoulder. At least, I think so, because he stopped using that arm, and it hung limply by his side. I guess that the FistFight was using realistic combat mechanics. I kicked his knee, and he crumpled to his knees, and I broke his avatar's neck with a practiced twist. The timer dinged, and showed I'd taken him down in less than 15 seconds. This…was going to be fun.

(X)

I'd torn through the bracket, slaughtering Templars and innocent contesters alike. The longest fight had taken two minutes. You won by either reducing the opponent's HP to zero, having them pass out from pain (as the pain absorber was set to the lowest setting that was safe for it's combatants) or dealing a normally fatal blow. People who entered thought they were a lot better than they actually were, so I mainly counter attacked their wild strikes. Unfortunately, other fights weren't as quick as mine, so I spent a lot of the day sitting in the lobby, flicking through the game's uninformative manual. But the final fight was coming up, and I need to keep my mind clear. It was 2:00 PM, and the fight was coming up fast. I watched as the tournament bracket crossed out the name on the bottom, and the one on the top advanced to my name in the center of the bracket. Verakh. I cracked my neck left, then right, and I was teleported. I was back in the arena, and a heavy-set guy with large muscles across from me. He reached behind him, strolled forward, and pulled out a handgun. "You will forfeit."

"I should have guess that you would cheat, templar."

"We should have guessed you would interfere, assassin," he said, putting the gun to my forehead.

"If you shoot, you'll get disqualified. You wouldn't risk pissing of your bosses, so cut it with the scare tactics." He chuckled, before tossing aside the gun. He swung at my head, and I blocked it with my forearm. I grabbed his bicep, and jerked his body towards me. I rushed forward and clotheslined him with my arm. He fell onto his back, then scrambled to his feet. He swung again, bringing his fist up from my down right. I grabbed his arm, jerking it to the down left. He toppled onto his right knee, and I punched him back to his feet with a forearm to his neck. I kicked his right knee out while he turned, bringing him back to his knees, and kneed him in the chin. He fell back, and his health bar reached zero. He shattered into polygons, and the game awarded me the 600,000,000 credits that was the prize. It was an insane amount of money, in-game and IRL, but the Assassins were only letting me keep a hundredth. A HUNDREDTH! It teleported me back to where I logged in, I gave the Assassin avatar that approached me the money, and I prepared to log out. I was about to hit the button, when I bumped into a girl with long black hair.

"Sorry…," I said, glancing at their username, and then I froze. "Kirito?"

"Seth?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"I asked you first." He looked at me, then sighed.

"I'm here investigating some rumors. Some guy who calls himself Death Gun attacked players in-game, and they died in the real world around the same time. I'm entering the BoB to draw him out. Now, you?"

"I came to stop enemies of my employers from winning a high-payout tournament. I just finished."

"Well, can you help me?"

"I will. But I just logged in this morning. I barely know anything."

"Well, can we get someone to help us?"

"Knock yourself out." We walked the streets, avoiding anyone who eyed Kirito a bit too long. Then, Kirito rushed ahead, running up to a retreating figure.

"Uh, excuse me," he said, as I caught up. A blue-haired, female avatar with a green shirt, black jeans, and a long scarf turned to glance at him. "Excuse me, we could use some directions."

'Kirito, she thinks you're a girl. Don't blow this,' I thought. "What?" she asked. She eyed Kirito, and spied my figure standing behind him. "Is this your first time playing the game?" she asked. I nodded, and she smiled, encouraging Kirito. She obviously thought we were a couple or something, knowing that he wasn't trying to hit on her with a friend or something.

"Um…" Kirito stuttered.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked, still addressing Kirito.

"Um…" he stuttered again. "Well…Yes, it's my first time playing. My friend's, too," he said, putting an arm around my shoulder and giggling like a schoolgirl. "We're looking for somewhere to get cheap weapons, and and a place called the governor general's office."

"Sure. I can take you there," the girl said, smiling. She started walking away, and I knocked Kirito's arm off my shoulder.

"She thinks you're a girl and we're a couple. Don't screw this up, or we'll never get anywhere," I hurriedly whispered.

"I know," he whispered back. "C'mon." We trailed after her, and the girl addressed me for the first time.

"By the way, what are you doing at the governor general's office?"

"We're going to sign up for the BoB."

"BoB? You two just started today, right?"

"Yes."

"Well…Your stats might not be good enough."

"Ours are converted accounts, so we're bringing our abilities from another game."

"Oh, I see. Can I ask you what brings you to a game like this that's dirty and stinks of oil?"

"We've always played fantasy games…" said Kirito. "So I thought we'd try something more cyber punk. And he was kind of intrested in gun fights," he said, watching a floating advert for a P90 float by.

"Ah…And you're starting with BoB?" she asked. "You've both got guts. Then, I'll take you to a big market with lots of stuff. We're almost there."

"Alright."

(X)

"This place is amazing," said Kirito, trying to see everything at once.

"GGO has two major weapon types, energy weapons and physical weapons. Energy weapons are light and accurate, but players can equip a defensive field that halves their damage. If you're doing a PvP fight like BoB, you want a physical gun."

"Okay," I said, thinking back to my lessons at the Farm. According to their tests, I'd been adept with almost every type of weapon, but masterful at handling carbines and revolvers.

"Now, then…What type of stats do you have?"

"Umm…" said Kirito. "Mostly STR, and speed after that."

"Same," I said.

"Strength-agility types, then? Then your main weapon should be a heavy assault rifle or a large-caliber machine gun, and a handgun sub-weapon, for a mid-range type." Kirito didn't understand anything of what she'd said. I understood, but disagreed. "But you two just converted, right? So not much money?"

"R-Right," stuttered out Kirito. I'd keep my tournament winnings to myself, for now. He opened his menu. "Let's see. I have 1000 credits."

"That's the starting amount, isn't it?" She thought for a moment. "With that money, you can't buy more than a small ray gun. If you wanted a physical gun, I doubt you could even buy a used revolver. Um…If you wouldn't mind…Shall I lend you some?"

"N-No, you don't have to do that!" shouted Kirito. "I know. Is there anywhere I could earn a lot of money?"

"I can't recommend it, but there are casinos and gambling games. There's one over there." She pointed to a game that called itself 'Untouchable!' It consisted of a long trail leading to a cowboy standing on the porch of a salon.

"Hey, check it! Come on!" the cowboy shouted, drawing his revolver.

"What's this?" Kirito asked.

"You enter from that gate, and dodge the NPC gunman's bullets. The goal is to make it as far as you can. And if you tag the gunman, you get all the money other players have ever put it," she said, pointing to a display, currently showing 301500.

"A-All of it?" Kirito said, stunned.

"About 300,000 credits?"

"Th-That's a huge amount."

"It's impossible. Once you pass the eight-meter line, he starts doing these cheap speed draws. By the time you see the prediction lines, it's too late."

"Prediction lines?" I asked.

"Watch…Someone's about to add to the pool," she whispered.

"Today you're gonna win!" shouted one of the three men at the gate.

"Get ready!" shouted the next one.

"All right!" shouted the last one, who seemed to be the challenger. He slammed his hand down on the panel, and the cowboy sprung to life.

"I'm gonna blast you from here to the moon."

"Okay, I'm gonna clear this today," said the challenger. His friends backed up, and I got a better look at him. He was wearing a blue camo uniform, with a beret. The timer counted down, and the gate sprung open. The man bolted forward, then froze in a weird position.

"What's he doing?" Kirito asked. Then, the bullets flew by him, missing him entirely. "Was that the predictive line?"

"Yes, a defensive assist system, the bullet line. Except for a sniper's first shot, a targeted player will see a display showing the path a bullet will take." Again, the man assumed a strange position, and the bullets flew by again. The man ducked down as the bullets went high.

"I'll kill you," the cowboy said.

"Too easy!" shouted the challenger. He crossed a line, and then the cowboy sped up.

"You loser," he said, firing high, then low. The challenger tried to bend back to avoid the high one, but was off balance when he jumped back to avoid the low one. He fell on his butt, and the cowboy pumped him full of lead. "Game over," the cowboy said, reloading then replacing his gun.

The pot increased to 302,000 as the crowd that had been gathered began to dissipate. "See?" said the girl. "You can't move far to the left or right, so you have to run right down the middle. That area's the limit."

"I get it," Kirito muttered. "Then, when you see the prediction lines, it's too late." Then he stepped forward, walking to the gate.

"Hey, wait…" the girl said as he placed his hand on the panel. "Is your friend insane?" she asked me.

"A bit," I responded.

"Heh, a beginner's gonna try?" I heard the ex-challenger say.

"The next loser is cute!" I heard one of the crowd say. "While we're here, why not take a look." Kirito crouched down, bending at the knees as the timer counted down. The girl leaned back against the wall, probably thinking she was about to watch Kirito get his ass handed to him. The gate opened, and Kirito dashed forward.

"I'll kill you," said the cowboy, firing. Kirito jumped to the right, then pushed off, landing back in the center. He kept dodging left and right, the cowboy's AI struggling to decide where to target. "You loser," it shouted, preparing to fire. Kirito dodged left, then pushed back up, landing back in the center.

"That's…" said the girl.

"She's already made it ten meters!"

"Who is she?"

The cowboy fired again, with a cry of "DIE!" and Kirito dodged. "Go to hell," the automaton said, firing widely, and he ducked under them all.

"You're out of ammo!" I heard Kirito shout. Suddenly, the cowboy's gun turned, and glowed blue. A light spewed forward…and Kirito jumped over it. He landed next to the cowboy, and tapped it's chest.

"NO!" the gunman shouted, falling to his knees. The building burst open, gold pouring out of all it's orifices. The crowd was in shock. Nobody moved as the number on the screen drained to zero. A pop-up appeared in front of Kirito, and he hit the button. The gold disappeared, and the cowboy recovered. "Hey, chicken, come on," he said as Kirito walked away.

"What was that?" the crowd asked. "Who is she?" The girl walked forward, and so did I.

"What kind of reflexes do you have?" she asked. "At the end, in front of it, you dodged lasers fewer than two meters away. There's hardly any time between prediction lines and actual shots!"

"Well…" Kirito stuttered. "Isn't this game's point to anticipate the prediction lines?"

"Anticipate the prediction lines?!"

(X)

We walked back to the shop part of the market, and Kirito, the girl, and I were wandering the "gun racks." "This assault rifle has a smaller caliber than a submachine gun, so why is it bigger?" Kirito asked.

"You don't even know that, but you have those ridiculous dodging skills? You said this was a converted account, right? What did you two play before?"

"Just a plain old fantasy game…"

"Oh. Well, that's fine. If you're entering the BoB qualifiers, I'll have a chance to see you in action. So, what was it? The reason an assault rifle has a small caliber?"

"Yes."

"It goes back to the American M16. The design revolved around a small-caliber, high-speed round, with high accuracy and penetrative power. That doesn't matter, does it?" We continued walking, the girl leading the way. "Now that you have 300,000 credits, you can get some good stuff. But in the end, it comes down to what you like and want to focus on."

"Focus on?" Kirito asked. Then, he froze. "Um, what about this?"

""Oh, that's an energy sword."

"E-Energy sword?"

"Yeah, an energy sword. The official name is 'photon sword,' but everyone calls them things like laser blades or beam sabers."

"There are swords in this world, too?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah, but no one uses them."

"Wh-Why?"

"Well, because you can only strike at point-blank range, and by the time you get that close, you've already been blown apart."

"In other words, you just have to get close, right?"

"Sure your dodge skills are amazing, but against a full auto weapon…" She hadn't even finished the sentence before he'd bought the thing. A cylindrical bot sped up.

"Welcome!" it shouted. It offered one of the pay-screens, which Kirito placed his hand on. Then, the sword materialized.

"Thanks," Kirito told the bot, grabbing the sword before it sped off.

"Thank you for your purchase!" shouted the bot.

"Well, everyone has their own combat style."

"If they're selling it, you should be able to use it. Even if it doesn't seem so." He hit a button on the sword, and a purple energy beam sprung out. He crouched down, assuming his combat ready position. Then, he sprung forward, replicating the horizontal square sword skill from SAO perfectly. The girl and I clapped, as he stood up straight.

"A skill from that fantasy world?" she asked. "It could actually work."

"No, it's nothing special. This thing is so light, though…" he said, attempting to put it in his usual sheath location. It didn't work, of course, and he realised that, hitting the button, and retracting the blade, and clipped it to his belt.

"Even if you go with that as your main weapon, I think you'll need a submachine gun or a handgun in your inventory. You'll need to distract them while you get close."

"I understand."

"How much do you have left?"

"150,000 or so."

"Energy swords are pricey. With 150,000…You'll also need ammo and weapons, so you'll want a handgun. In that price range…"

Kirito raised his arms in surrender. "I'll leave it to you."

We walked to the handgun section, and the girl began to speak. "If you're going to enter BoB, you'll need a physical gun. And if the goal is to distract them, you'll want accuracy over power. It'll take almost everything you have, but I'd recommend this," she said, pointing to a FN Five Seven.

"Five-seven?" he asked.

"The caliber. It uses 5.7mm bullets. There smaller than your average 9mm Parabellums. But their shape is similar to rifle rounds, so they have a greater accuracy and penetrative power. Are you listening?"

"Y-Yes…Then I'll take this. Is there anything else I should pick up?"

"Let's see. A holster, spare ammo…and armor. A defense field, as well. And…"

"What?"

"You've never fired a gun, have you?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Want to try it before we move on to your friend?"

(X)

We were in the firing range, and the girl was helping Kirito through the basics of firing a gun in-game. "You can try any gun you buy at the store. Do you know how to fire it?"

"I think so." He raised the gun, in his left hand only, and tried to line it up. "It's surprisingly light," he said.

"It's made of reinforced plastic. The recoil isn't bad, either. But it's best to start firing with both hands. Keep your left eye open, too." He adjusted his position, and put his finger on the trigger. "You should see a circle display."

"The one that's getting bigger and smaller?" he asked.

"That's an offensive assist system, the bullet circle. Bullets hit randomly somewhere in that circle."

"What's the best way to raise accuracy?" he asked.

"The easiest way is to get closer."

"What else?"

"Stay calm. If your pulse increases, the circle expands."

"It's hard." He waited a bit, before pulling the trigger, and the gun shot up. The girl hit the button next to them, and the target came forward. He hadn't hit the thing at all. "Huh? It didn't hit."

"It isn't that easy to hit. C'mon, let's get your friend suited up. How much cash do you have?"

"600,000 credits." Her jaw dropped, and a grin teased across my face.

"How did you get that many?!"

"I won the FistFight tournament this morning."

"That was you?!"

"Yes. Now, I was thinking about a carbine, with a revolver side weapon."

"Ok…Lets go, then."

(X)

I ended up getting and upgrading an M1 carbine, with a metal stock instead of the original wooden finish, and a pistol grip. I also grabbed a hand cannon that fired .454 Casull rounds and a military knife, in case of emergencies. I added a leather strap to the carbine that allowed me to carry it on me, without using my hands. At the range, the girl starting walking me through the basics of shooting, but I'd already expertly lined up my shot. I used some breathing techniques to slow my heartbeat, and the circle narrowed to a point. I fired, plugging two shots into the center mass, then rose the gun, firing another 3 into the target's head. Kirito seemed impressed, but the girl just nodded appreciatively. We got our equipment, Kirito getting his signature black trench coat, and me getting a black jacket with a hood, along with pants with pads on the knees, and gloves that gave me a dexterity boost. We didn't put them on yet though, at the advice of the girl, and we left the shop. "You really helped us out," said Kirito. "Thank you."

"There aren't many female players. And I wasn't really doing much before the qualifiers."

"You're entering BoB, too?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm just about to enter." Then, she checked the time, and her face lit up in shock. I turned, and glanced at the clock behind me. 14:50. "Oh, no! We only have ten minutes!"

"I'm sorry," Kirito said hurriedly. "It's our fault."

"No, it's my fault for not paying attention. Let's just hurry," she said, and we all ran off.

"U-Um, isn't there anything like a teleporter?" Kirito asked.

"Nope. In GGO, the only teleportation is if you're entered in a tournament, and the dying and re-spawning. And your HP will never go down in town, so you can't do that. The governor general's office is over there. It's three kilometers away…Entering will take five minutes, so we need to get there in three. Please…Please get there!" I glanced around, and spied another tri-bike rental station.

"C'mon!" I shouted, racing ahead, and grabbing the girl's hand as I passed her, dragging her along. I tossed her in one of the three seats in the back, and jumped on as Kirito got in one of the other seats. I slammed my hand down on the payment panel that appeared, and the engine revved to life. I twisted the accelerator, and we jumped over the railing onto what I assumed to be the highway. "Hang on tight, you two!" I raced down the road, slipping in and out of traffic. I knew Kirito wasn't bothered, since he rode a motorcycle in real life too, but at one point I felt the girl's arms slide under my arms and hang on tight to my shoulders.

"How?" she asked. "These buggies are really hard to drive, and almost no one can handle them!"

"W-Well…I drive a motorcycle in real life, and I've driven in a lot worse of conditions," I said, making a tight curve around an upcoming bus. I felt her arms drop to my waist, and her head was pressed into my back. "Are you okay?" I asked. She leaned her head back, and started laughing.

"Wow!" she shouted, screaming into the wind. "This feels awesome! Hey, faster! Go faster!"

"Alright then," I said, slamming the handle back as far as it went. The bike raced forward as the girl sat back, her arms leaving my waist. We sped up the road to the building, and I activated the handbrake. We spun to the side, smoke coming up from the tires as we slowed to a stop. "Five minutes," I said.

"We can still make it," she said, hopping off the bike. "This way," she shouted, grabbing Kirito's hand and mine. She practically dragged us off the bike and into the building. Inside was a holographic ad for the BoB, and she was still holding Kirito's hand, though she dropped mine. "Come on, hurry," she said, directing us to several screens on the side wall. She led us through a bunch of men, their gear on full display. "Here," she said. "You can enter the tournament from here." She pointed me to a booth, and led Kirito to another, then took her own. "It's a normal touch panel terminal, so it should be easy to use. But you can ask, if you need any help."

"Thank you," Kirito said. I hit the entry button, and, again, ignored the personal info slots.

"Why is it asking for my personal stuff?" I asked.

"You can have substitute prizes mailed to you, like replicas of weapons and such." Well, that didn't interest me, so I left them blank. The terminal recognized my avatar info from my touch, so I just hit submit. "Are you done?" she asked Kirito, who hurriedly submitted his form.

"Yeah, I think." She nodded, turning to me.

"You?"

"Done. Thanks for your help."

"It's okay. It was fun, riding in that buggy. Anyway, which qualifier block did you get?"

"Block F…" Kirito said.

"C," I said.

"Oh, I see. I'm in block F, too. I'm twelve, so that means…good. Even if I run into you, it'll be in the finals."

"What's good?" he asked.

"As long as you make it to the final battle of the qualifiers, you can participate in the battle royal in the main tournament. So it's possible all three of us could make it to the main tournament."

"Oh," said Kirito.

"But if I do see you in the finals, even if it's a qualifier…I won't go easy on you," she said, suddenly serious.

"I understand," said Kirito.

"I'd be kind of disappointed if you didn't," I said. We waited around, and started talking.

"For a foreign game, the Japanese on this is pretty good…" said Kirito. "The official game site was only in English."

"You could have called me," I said, ignoring the strange look from the girl.

"You know English?" she asked.

"I moved to Japan from America last year," I responded.

"The company that operates it, Zaskar, is American, but the Japanese staff is assigned to the server for Japan. But you know, GGO is kind of a legal gray zone, in both Japan and America."

"Because of the real money-conversion system?" asked Kirito.

"The official page has only minimal information. You can only manage your character, access the e-money accounts you need for currency conversion, or do most anything game-related inside the game itself."

"It's, well…It's amazing."

"That's why it's almost entirely cut off from the real world. Because of that, it feels like the real me and the me that exists here are two different people. It's nothing, sorry. We need to get to the tournament qualifier area. Are you two ready?"

"Yeah."

"That's it. It's down there," she said, pointing to a series of doors. We walked through into a huge common area, filled with people brandishing lots of guns. Most of them glared at us and I stared coldly back. The girl nudged my arm. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Okay…Let's go to the waiting room. You need to equip the combat suits you bought."

"Ah, right." We walked through the crowd, all of them trying to look intimidating. We sat down in the empty room, and the girl looked a bit pissed.

"They're all such idiots."

"Idiots?" I asked.

"Those scary guys?" asked Kirito.

"Yeah, showing off your main weapon thirty minutes before the fight? Its just asking to get countered."

"O-Oh…I see," said Kirito.

"You should only equip your weapons just before the match starts. Now," she said addressing me. "Get out. We need to change, then you can use it." I glanced at Kirito, who was starting to panic, and grinned at him. I walked out the door, and a few minutes later, the girl walked out, now wearing battle armor, and backhanded me across the face.

"I take it that he told you," I said, rubbing the tingling area.

"Yes."

"If it helps, I'm sorry. But we REALLY needed some help."

"It doesn't."

"Well. I'll go change then." I scooted past her, and changed into my hoodie. It had Kevlar sewn into the fabric, so it may end up saving my life, or so the girl said. I equipped my gloves, and my pants. I came out to find Kirito was following the girl, and she was trying to ditch him.

"Don't follow me," she said.

"But I don't know what to do," he pleaded.

"Don't follow me," she repeated.

"But I don't know anyone else…"

"Don't follow me," she said again.

"B-But…" Suddenly, she stopped, and took a deep breath as I walked up next to Kirito. He winced, expecting her to yell, but she just exhaled like she was frustrated. She led us to a table, where we sat opposite her. We had ten minutes left, and Kirito was starting to panic. She must have had some kind of pity in her heart, because she began talking.

"I'll explain the bare minimum. After that, we're enemies, got it?"

"Th-Thank you," Kirito stuttered.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I haven't forgiven either of you. Once that countdown hits zero, all the entrants here will be automatically transferred to a battlefield containing them and their first-round opponent."

"O-Okay."

"The field is a one-kilometer square region. The terrain, weather, and time are random. You'll start a minimum of five hundred meters apart, and once the match ends, the winner is sent back here. The loser is sent to the first-floor hall. If you lose, there aren't any random equipment drops. In block F, there are sixty-four people. Same for block C. So five victories takes you to the finals, and gives you the right to enter the main tournament. I won't explain further or answer any questions."

"I think I've got it," Kirito said. "Thanks."

"You better make it to the finals," she said. "I've taught you both so much, and I want to teach you one last thing."

"One last thing?" I asked.

"The taste of the bullet that means defeat."

"I'll look forward to that," I said, grinning.

"But what about you?" Kirito asked.

"If I wash out in the qualifiers, I'm retiring. This time…" I heard her mutter. "This time…" she repeated. "I'll kill all the strong ones." Then, she began grinning. I've fought madmen and monsters, and that smile still creeped me out. "This will be the last time we talk like this, so I'll give you my name." She opened her menu, and displayed her name. Sinon. "It's the name of the one who will someday defeat you."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

**Authors Note: Shit gets intense in this chapter. Just saying. Don't forget to review, follow, and favorite.**

"Well, I'd say you already know Kirito. So, I'm Corsi, but just call me Seth. Nice to meet you," I said. I slid down the table, pressing my back against the wall, and lowered my head. I could still see the room, but it was an underestimation technique. I could monitor people while they thought I was sleeping.

A white haired avatar in a thin camo suit walked up. "You're late, Sinon. I was worried you wouldn't make it."

"Hi, Spiegel. I got caught up in something unexpected. But…Didn't you say you were going to enter?" she asked, scooting down the table.

"I thought it might be a pain, but I came to cheer you on. You can watch the match on a big screen here. By the way, what did you mean by 'something unexpected'?"

"I was showing these people the way here."

"I think that means us," I said, raising my head.

"H-Hi, nice to meet you," Spiegel said, addressing Kirito. "Are you friends of Sinon's?"

"Don't be fooled," Sinon said. "The one sitting up is a guy!" Spiegel seemed a bit shocked.

"My name is Kirito," he said proudly. "And I'm a guy."

"G-Guy? Does that mean that…"

"Sinon's been a big help in a lot of ways."

"Stop that, I'm not helping you with anything! And I don't want you calling me by name."

"Don't be so cold…" he said.

"Cold? I don't even know you! Or him!"

"But you helped us pick out our equipment."

"Th-That was because-," But we never got to find out why, because the crystal in the center lit up.

"We apologize for the wait," said a feminine voice. "The Bullet of Bullets 3 Qualifying Tournament will now begin. After the countdown, all players who have entered the tournament will be automatically transported to the first-round field map. Good luck." There was general cheering, and the random firing of weapons. Sinon stood up, first addressing Kirito.

"Get to the finals! I'll kick your butt there! And you!" she said, rounding on me. "You make it to the tournament, so I can put a bullet in you!"

"I look forward to it," I said, lowering my head again.

"Y-You…" I heard her mutter, and I could feel Spiegel's eyes narrowing into a glare. 'Maybe I took it a bit too far,' I thought as I was teleported.

I appeared in a void, with me standing on an orange hexagon. I equipped my weapons, and my carbine appeared in my arms, my hand cannon at my waist, and my knife in a holster strapped to my left forearm. I wouldn't be able to slide it out like a hidden blade, but it would be easy to draw and throw. I glanced at the screen above me for my combatant. Hayki. Remaining time: 12 seconds. Field: Snow Pit. 'Snow Plain? What does that-,'

My question was answered when I was teleported again. I appeared in a field, that had a thick layer of snow on top of it. I quickly activated eagle vision as I crouched down. I saw a tinge of red through the blizzard that was raging around me, and hoisted my carbine to my shoulder. It was closing fast, so I easily climbed a tree that was next to me, and settled in the branches as an insanely fast guy with an SMG came to a stop. I readied my rifle, slowly pulling my head behind the sights, and adjusted accordingly. The guy below me was sprinting around, checking everywhere but up the tree. I waited until he turned to check behind a bush, and I placed my finger on the trigger. The circle narrowed on the back of his head as my slow breathing and the cold slowed my heartbeat. I pulled the trigger, and the gun kicked as the bullet passed his head. He fell onto the bush as the game congratulated me. The game teleported me back into the room, and I instantly glanced around for Kirito, but a quick glance at the tournament bracket showed he was already in his next match. I turned and was confronted by another hooded figure. It had a skull looking mask on, that occasionally put steam out of the mouth.

"You. Your name. Your attire. That skill at climbing. Are you him?"

"I'm sorry?"

He pulled up an internet window, and showed me the tournament bracket that now displayed my name. "Corsi. Are you the real one?" This guy was really creeping me out, so I turned to leave, when he lowered his wrist. The Laughing Coffin symbol was on a crack in the bandages that covered his arms. And I froze. That guild brought up a lot of bad memories, most of them in that death game, but the way he wore it…

I've killed…a lot of people for the Assassins. Some were simply collateral damage, people being payed by my targets to get in the way. And I try to forget about those as best I can but…

About a week ago, I got a call. One of the brotherhood was going to try to infiltrate a warehouse at the dock, and I was to eliminate the guards surrounding the place. Simple Infiltration Assist. I'd done it a thousand times but…This time was different. I'd taken 5 out, and was about to drop assassinate the last one from the roof of the warehouse. I fell off the roof, dropping onto the guy, but I'd misjudged, and my blade plunged into his shoulder, not his neck. Though he grunted in pain, he managed to shrug me off, and tried to radio for reinforcements. Unfortunatly, my blade had pierced the antenna of his radio, and his cries for help went unheard. I was still dazed from my toss, and he kicked me in the side, then crouched over me, and pulled out his gun. I knocked it out of his hands by hitting the side of the barrel with my head, and it went into the water. He grinned, then hunched over me more. His hands went to my throat…and suddenly, it wasn't the guard. It was Haythem Kenway, and the cannon shots I could hear indicated it was him and Conner's final battle. I wiggled my arm out from under his knee, and stabbed the hidden blade into the side of his throat. He staggered off me, and the scene changed back to the dock. I got off the floor, coughing quietly, and went to finish the job, when he grinned madly. He chuckled as he drowned in his own blood, and displayed his wrist. On it, was the symbol of Laughing Coffin.

"Whether you're a fake using his name or the real one…Someday, I'll kill you." His words were lost on my ears as the guilt flooded back. He walked away as I remembered things I'd convinced myself never to think of again. A misspelling of a street name that led to an innocent woman's death. The groups of mercenaries that had been paid to kill me, not knowing what they were up against. Kibaou…The kid couldn't have been older than 19, and didn't even know that I was hunting him…I collapsed against the nearest wall as the memories consumed me. Images of crowds, sirens, the same shocked, horrified expression…So. Much. Blood. Suddenly, I felt a presence through all my madness.

A hand patted my shoulder. "Your friend is a mess," Sinon said. Then she saw my face. "And it looks like you're not much better."

"N-No, I'm fine," I stuttered, still shaking slightly.

"Was your fight that close? If so, you made it back pretty early. Almost no one finishes in under five minutes, but your friend is already in his next match." She glanced back at my vacant eyes, and sighed. "If your first fight already has you like that, you'll never make it to the finals. Get a grip on yourself. You and your friend both owe me." She started walking away, patting my shoulder as she went. Almost involuntarily, my hand shot out, and grabbed hers. "Hey-," she started, but stopped when she saw my face. I was concentrating intently on dispelling the memories, but I needed something real. Something that wasn't completely computer generated. The warmth of her hand was helping, just like Liz had relied on mine the night we'd met. "What's wrong?" she asked, her hands leaving mine as most of the memories went away, replaced by pleasant memories with Liz. But one remained. The grinning face of the LC member at the docks. "Did something…" she started to ask, but I was teleported to my next match.

I spawned in a city. I was on top of a building, and I could see another figure on the building across town. I leveled my carbine, and then he was gone. He'd leapt across the gap between roofs, and landed on the next one. By the time I'd moved my gun, he was on the next one. The process repeated, until he landed behind me. I spun, dropping the carbine and it's strap tightened around my neck, and drew my hand cannon from it's sheath. I fired into the AGL type's face, and the guy fell back, a wide hole in his head. But I couldn't wipe the guy's face from my mind, and, according to my brain, the dead avatar starting grinning madly just before I was teleported.

(X)

I stood with Sinon and Spiegel, watching Kirito slice through his 4th round opponent. "He keeps fighting like that and winning. His next fight is in the semifinals," Spiegel said. "Sinon, yours is too, right? Good luck." Sinon nodded, then she was teleported. I watched Sinon sit in a city for a bit, looking for a target, before I was teleported to my semi-final match. I kept my opponent behind cover with my carbine, then used my hiding skill to get the angle on him. He popped up to aim where I was as I snuck behind him. I put my revolver to the back of his head, and pulled the trigger. I was teleported back to the room, to find Kirito had already finished his battle, but the match containing my future opponent was far from done, and the same with Sinon's. I approached him. "Are you okay? Sinon said you were a mess after the first match."

"I'm fine…but I think I found Death Gun."

"Describe him."

"Tall, cloaked, he's got this metal skull mask." I was shocked to hear him describe the guy I'd seen earlier.

"He approached me too. He's a SAO survivor, and was in Laughing Coffin."

"I know. I saw his…I can't remember the names of the ones who survived the raid." I'd been on the LC raid with Kirito and Asuna, and had killed 3 in the battle, but I also couldn't the ones who survived. Suddenly, I was teleported.

I was behind cover, hiding from a large man with a large machine gun, who had the upper ground. Round after round pummeled into the ruins I was hiding behind, and I was waiting for the lull in his fire to dodge into the shadows across a short field. The sound from the fire cut out, and I darted across the field, slipping into the shadows. From there, I was able to sneak around the hill the gunner was stationed on, and throw my knife into his neck. He keeled over, and we both teleported back.

I watched Kirito take down Sinon, and she seemed enraged that she'd been beaten. I hit log out after their battle ended.

(X)

I woke up to see a dark figure in my room. I slipped the Amusphere off quietly, then pounced, sliding my hidden blade into my palm as I shoved the person against the wall of my room. My blade darted towards their neck…and then froze. It was Rika. "Well. This is interesting," she said, raising an eyebrow. I'd forgotten I'd given her keys to my place. My blade slid back up my sleeve, and I released her from the wall.

"What are you doing here?"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice when your name appeared on two tournaments in one day?"

"I kind of hoped."

"I came to see why you lied to me."

"I didn't intentionally lie. I met Kirito after the first tournament, and he asked for my help with something."

"And that would be?"

"He thinks that someone has been killing people in real life by killing them in the game."

"And your helping him track them down?!"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"What would happen if you died?"

"It won't. Because I don't think it's possible." She started at me for a bit, before noticing the emptiness in my voice.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching a hand out to me.

"I'm fine," I said, walking away and going to the fridge. I pulled out a bottle of water and chugged it down. I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder, and her chin nuzzle into the back of my shoulder.

"I know that you're not," she said, just behind my ear. "So why don't you tell me what's wrong?" I finished the water, and placed it down on the counter. I reached back, placing my hand over hers.

"Because I'm scared," I said, my voice trembling slightly.

"Scared?" she asked, almost incredibly as she stepped away, and I went back to my bed. "The guy who faced the death game SAO with only HIS skills, is scared?"

"I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for you. I'm scared that if I tell you EXACTLY what I've done…You'll hate me," I said, my head down as I sat on the edge of my bed. Suddenly, a hand was at my chin, forcing me to look her in the eye.

"Don't say that."

"You will."

"Shut up!" Her sudden aggressiveness surprised me, and I obeyed. "Listen to me. I love you, and you love me. You can tell me anything, and I won't think anything less of you."

"Really?!" I shouted sarcastically, knocking her hand away. "What if I told you how many people I've killed that WEREN'T Templars? What if I told you that I got an innocent woman killed because of a TYPO?! What if I told you that I try to forget what I've done, and it only makes it worse? What if I said that no matter how much I try to justify my actions, the guilt is eating me alive?" At this point, I was in tears. Water rolled down my face as images flooded my brain. Frank confidently handing me my first mission report, knowing exactly what was awaiting me after it's completion. The Master Assassin of the American Bureau congratulating me for buying our hackers in Abstergo time to get Desmond Miles' memories during his coma out, knowing how many people I'd killed in the process. People who knew I'd killed people for their benefit, and didn't care.

Rika wrapped me in a hug, and I clung to her, sobbing. I was convinced that if I let go, she would disappear, and I would be alone with my memories and a knife. And I don't think I would have survived that.

(X)

I met Kirito in the waiting room for the BoB. Sinon walked up to us, and I met her cold stare with one of my own. "Today, I won't lose!" she shouted.

"Neither will I," I responded.

"And neither will I," Kirito said.

"We seem to be at a standoff," I said, grinning. This seemed to annoy Sinon even more, so I stopped. Then, it seemed that Kirito realized something.

"Hey, Sinon." She ignored him, staring into the distance. "Sinon?" Again, she ignored him. "Sinon? Sinon-,"

"Stop it! I already said hello. Do you want something else?"

"W-Well, I thought that, before the tournament starts, we could maybe share information. I-We'd really appreciate it…" She glared at him, before sighing.

"Fine. I'm sure it'll just be me lecturing you, though," she said, walking off.

"Th-That wasn't my intention! Entirely…" he muttered, racing after her.

She walked us into the Tournament hall, where he contestors where all talking, drinking, betting, and showing off. "The main tournament is always like a big party," said Sinon, and began walking. Suddenly, there was a shout.

"H-Hey, isn't that Kirito?"

"I heard she rips through her enemies with a photon sword."

"A cool, beautiful berserker, huh? Nice."

"No, Sinon's much better."

"I'd love to be shot by Sinon."

"Yeah."

"I'd rather get sliced up."

"Go play ALO, then." Suddenly, Kirito bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he said.

"W-We're sorry, Kirito!" the stranger said, leaping aside. He walked past them, and I followed, glaring at them. Suddenly, Kirito stopped. I walked by him as he slowly turned around.

"You guys…Cheer for me!" he shouted, assuming a girly pose. The entire crowd erupted into cheers as Sinon and I rolled our eyes in exasperation.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked.

(X)

We sat at a semi-circle table, me on the back wall, with Kirito on my right, and Sinon on my left.

"So, in the main tournament, thirty players are randomly placed on the same map? You start shooting when you encounter someone, and the last man standing is the winner?"

"I knew it…" Sinon said, passing me her display. It was a menu for the bar. I hit the option for an orange soda, and a cup popped out of the table. I passed the menu to Kirito as I sipped. "You're trying to make me explain everything to you. Anyway, all of that was in the e-mail the admins sent you!"

"I d-did read it, but…I wanted to make sure I understood it."

"I guess it's all in how you say it. Basically, you're right. It's a battle royal on a single map with thirty players. Starting locations are random, but you'll be at least a thousand meters from every other player."

"A kilometer?" I asked. "That means the map must be huge."

"Did either of you really read the e-mail? The main tournament map is 10 kilometers in diameter. It has mountains, forests, and deserts. The stage also starts in the afternoon, so no one has an advantage or disadvantage due to equipment or stat type."

"Can you even find anyone?" Kirito asked.

"You're shooting at each other with guns, so it has to be that big. And participants automatically receive an item called a 'satellite scan terminal.'"

"Satellite…" Kirito muttered. "Like a spy satellite or something?"

"Yeah. The idea is that a spy satellite passes over the stage once every fifteen minutes. Then it transmits the location information of each player on the map to the terminal."

"In other words," I said, "You can only hide in one place for fifteen minutes?"

"That's right."

"But wouldn't a rule like that put a sniper at a disadvantage?" asked Kirito.

"Fifteen minutes is more than enough to fire one shot, kill one person, and move."

"O-Oh…"

"Okay, are we done for now?" she asked, standing up. "The next time I find you.."

"W-Wait, wait-," Kirito shouted, grabbing the end of her scarf. She sent a glare his way.

"Is there still something else?" He hurriedly nodded.

"It's what I really wanted to talk about." She exhaled, and sat back down. "Um…this may seem strange," he said, pulling something up and sliding it towards her, "but how many of the players participating in BoB for the first time have names you don't recognize?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Please…Tell me. It's important."

"Well, as long as it's only names, I don't mind telling you. Other than a swordsman and a rifleman, only three are new players."

"Three?" Kirito asked, trying to scoot over, but just pushing me into her. "What are they called?"

"'Gunner X' and 'Pale Rider'? And…I guess it's pronounced 'Sterben'? What is it with you? You two haven't explained any of this. I'm about to get really mad," she said as Kirito tried to figure out how to explain.

"No, well…"

"What?" she asked, exasperated. "Is your plan to piss me off so I screw up in the main tournament?"

"No…No, that's not it," I hurriedly said.

"Does it have anything to do with how you both started acting weird in the qualifiers yesterday?"

"Yeah. Yeah it does," I said. "Yesterday, a player we know from another VRMMO spoke to me. One of those names is probably his."

"A friend?"

"No. An enemy. The two of us seriously tried to kill him, and he seriously tried to kill us. But neither of us can remember what he used to call himself."

"Kill you? An enemy? Were you in a party, and got into a fight or something?"

"No…We honestly tried to take each other's life. Their group…did something absolutely unforgivable. There's no way in hell we could be friends. We had to settle things with blades. And I don't regret that at all. But…"

"For a long time, I've been avoiding taking responsibility for it. Up until now, I'd forced myself to forget." Kirito started talking about himself, but, unknowingly, he was also speaking for me. "But I'm not allowing myself to run anymore. This time, I have to face it head-on. We're sorry for saying such weird things. Forget about it."

"You can still pull the trigger anyway?" Kirito had told me about the question he asked Sinon, via text, so at least I understood what she was talking about. "Kirito, Seth, were you players in that game? Sorry. I'm not supposed to ask that, am I?"

"No, it's okay."

"Seth…"

"Sinon?" I asked from my spot in between them, almost convinced they'd forgotten me. She sighed.

"We need to head to the standby dome, or we won't have time to focus on our minds or inspect or equipment."

"You're right," I said, scooting out from behind the table as she stood up.

(X)

"I understand that you have your reasons for what you're doing," Sinon said in the elevator. She pointed a finger gun at me. "But your promise with me is something different. I'm going to pay you back for yesterday's final round," she said, addressing Kirito. "And you for lying to me. So…If either of you let someone else shoot you, I won't forgive you."

"I understand. I'll survive until I see you," Kirito said. I simply nodded from the corner, and she lowered the finger gun.

"Thanks." We got to the standby dome.

(X)

I met up with Kirito shortly after the tournament started, and we set about to tracking Pale Rider. He seemed to be chasing Dyne, and Kirito wanted to see if he was Death Gun. We were swimming underwater, tracing them as they raced through the mountains on the other side of the map. It was the easiest way to stay hidden as we went to the bridge, which was the crossing point between the forest, and the mountains where we spawned. We creeped over the hill on the other side of the bridge, to see Dyne racing across the bridge, and Sinon on the ledge on our side of the bridge. I slid down, and Sinon whirled around, pulling out her pistol. "Who's there?!" she shouted. I leapt forward, knocking aside her gun and pinning her arms to the floor. I heard Kirito slide down the hill behind me as I shushed her.

"Wait," I said, keeping an eye on her, and another on the bridge. "Kirito's got a plan."

"In this situation, there aren't any plans or compromises! One of us dies…That's all!" I felt her wrist turn her gun towards me.

"Please. I don't want them to notice us." I looked up, to see Pale Rider hadn't appeared yet.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I want to watch the battle on the bridge till the end. Until it ends, don't attack."

"Watch and do what?"

"That depends on what happens, but we'll leave this area. We won't attack you."

"I might shoot you from behind," she said, baring her teeth.

"If that's your decision, fine. Just understand. It's about to begin."

"If we get to start over, will you fight me for real?"

"Yeah." She lowered the gun, and I pounced over to where Kirito had stationed himself with his binoculars, pulling out my own.

"You should be a bit more cautious," she said, putting her gun back into it's holster, then crawling to her rifle. "If he tries to move, I'll shoot him first."

"Fine," Kirito said. "No, wait." We focused on a white-camoed figure marching across the bridge. Definitely not Death Gun. Dyne started firing at the guy, but Pale Rider elegantly leaped around the bridge, dodging every attack. Pale Rider landed back on the pavement, and shot Dyne once, twice, three times, and Dyne fell back, the red Dead tag appearing above him.

"If he had time to swap magazines, he should have shot from the hip," said Sinon.

"The pale guy's strong," said Kirito. "Was he the guy who wore the cape?"

"No," I whispered back, trying to hide my voice from Sinon. "If he wants everyone to know he can kill people within the game, he'll wear the exact same gear he was described wearing in the rumors."

"I'm going to shoot him," said Sinon.

"Okay," said Kirito. Suddenly, Pale Rider collapsed as if he was hit from the side. But none of us had heard a gunshot. This was evidenced with Sinon's next line.

"I missed the gunshot?"

"No, I definitely didn't hear it. What's going on?" I asked.

"The only possibilities are a quiet laser rifle or a silencer…But he shouldn't be dead, so why isn't he moving?"

"It looked like he was shot from the forest," said Kirito.

"No," she said. "I think it was from farther than that. I just looked all the way to the end of the map, and no one's within a kilometer. Wait…Where did you two come from?"

"We were following that Pale Rider. Oh, that's it," Kirito said.

"What?" asked Sinon.

"We were swimming in that river during the scan. We were underwater the whole time, so I guess the satellite couldn't find us."

"With all your equipment? How?"

"We unequipped all our items and moved them to item storage, of course."

"Then, if you're at the bottom of the river, the satellite scan can't pick you up, huh? I'll remember that."

"Sinon, his avatar has a strange light effect." Indeed, it looked like sparks were pulsing through Pale Rider.

"A stun bullet?" Suddenly, Kirito gasped. I activated Eagle Vision, and saw him. He was standing in the shadow of the bridge, as if he'd appeared out of nowhere, and he was glowing bright gold. His cloak moved, and Sinon gasped. "Silent Assassin?!"

"The name of that rifle?" I asked, gesturing to the gleaming barrel on his body.

"Yeah…A high-level sniper rifle that comes with equipped with a silencer. I'd heard rumors that it existed within GGO, but it's the first time I've seen one. If he can use a gun like that, who is he?"

Death Gun pulled the handgun from his waist, and cocked it. "He's going to finish him with the handgun?" Sinon asked as Death Gun made an exaggerated catholic cross gesture, before pointing the gun at Pale Rider.

"Sinon, fire…" Kirito said.

"At which one?"

"The one in the cape! Please shoot him! Quickly! Before he shoots!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

**Authors Note: In case you care, or really care about imagery, I imagine Seth looking like Conner from the trailer where he charged the British line. And don't say that IS Conner, because Conner from the game, and from that trailer are drastically different. But yeah…Favorite, follow, review, and enjoy.**

Sinon pulled the trigger, her rifle belched, and the bullet zoomed towards Death Gun. Suddenly, Death Gun leaned back slightly, dodging the bullet. Death Gun settled back into position, staring at us. "He knew where I was," Sinon said quietly as she reloaded.

"No way," Kirito said.

"He must've seen me somewhere, so the system recognized me." Death Gun leveled his handgun, and fired a bullet into Pale Rider's body. His health went down a fraction, and Pale Rider sprung up as the stun bullet wore off. Pale Rider leveled his shotgun at Death Gun…and then dropped it. Pale Rider fell to his knees, then tipped onto his side. He twitched slightly, placing a hand over his heart, before glowing green, and a 'Disconnected' pop-up appeared. "What was that?" asked Sinon.

"My true name," Death Gun was saying to the camera, "and the name of this gun, is Death Gun. And I will bring you true death with this gun. I have the power. Do not forget. It isn't over. Nothing is over. It's show time." Death Gun holstered his handgun, and began to walk into the shadow of the bridge.

"I think we just met Death Gun," I said.

"Death Gun?" asked Sinon. "You mean the one from the weird rumor about players that he shoots not logging in?"

"Yeah." Kirito had e-mailed the mission report his government 'handler' gave him, so I knew what he knew. "He's actually capable of killing players through some method."

"No way," she said.

"Two are already dead in real life," I said. Death Gun had disappeared behind the bridge.

"He isn't coming back out," said Sinon, checking her scope. Suddenly, the alarm on her watch went off. "Kirito, watch the bridge. Seth, come with me." She stepped away from her rifle, and took a few steps back. She took the map from her pocket, and it displayed the players' locations. "We're going to use this to check his name," she said, tapping the dots around the bridge. It showed the three of us, the dead Dyne, and nothing else. Suddenly, Sinon turned to me. "This is our chance."

"Our chance?" I asked, Kirito turning as well.

"The guy in the cape doesn't appear on my terminal. He's gone underwater like you two did. Which means that all his weapons are unequipped."

"You can still move underwater with a single handgun, right?" I asked.

"Even so, I can beat a guy with a lone handgun-," she said, rolling her eyes and walking back to her rifle.

"No!" I shouted, grabbing her arm. "We just saw his handgun kill Pale Rider. One shot, and you could really die!"

"I don't want to accept that there's a player who'd actually killing people in real life…"

"But there is. The player in the cape, Death Gun, killed lots of people in the VRMMO we were once part of. He swung his sword, knowing people would die." She shook her arm out of my grip.

"Someone like that is really playing GGO?" She started to tremble slightly, so I shook her shoulders.

"Sinon! Sinon!" Suddenly, she snapped out of whatever happened. She shrugged my hands off of her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just a little surprised. To be honest, it'll take some time for me to believe your story. But I don't think it's something you two made up."

"Thanks," I said, grinning. "That's more than enough."

"Anyway, we need to get out of here. The other players will think we're fighting and come to kill us all."

"You're right," I said.

"Then let's split up here," said Kirito, rising.

"What will you do?" asked Sinon.

"We'll follow Death Gun," I said. "Sinon, try to stay as far away from him as possible."

"But…"

"I'll keep my promise," I said, smiling as I drew my carbine from it's sling on my back. "Next time we fight, I'll go with all I have. But back there…thanks for listening, instead of shooting me."

I crouched and jumped off the ledge, and I heard Kirito follow me. "Hey!" Sinon shouted. "Wait!" I glanced back, and Sinon was following us, carrying her rifle. "I'm going too. That Death Gun's pretty strong. If you lose to him, you can't fight me."

"Well…" Kirito said.

"I don't like it, but it'll be safer to work together temporarily, and knock him out of the running."

"No," said Kirito. "He's really dangerous."

"We don't know where he went, so isn't it dangerous whether I stay with you or not?"

"She's got a point," I said. "Plus, we aren't exactly helpless ourselves." Kirito thought, before nodding. Suddenly, his sword activated as he spun around. I saw a flurry of prediction lines, and I leveled my carbine, crouching. Kirito swung like mad, and none of the bullets hit any of us. "Just defend until he runs out. I'll provide covering fire while Sinon get's a shot off."

"Got it," he muttered, blocking a bullet that was supposed to hit me in the face. The guy shooting at us went to reload, and I pelted the area he stood in with bullets. He ducked down, and Sinon, who had leapt to the side when there was a lull in the gunfire, sighted her target. Her gun kicked back as a bullet was sent streaming through his head. I got off the ground, and Kirito sheathed his sword.

(X)

"Death Gun should have gone north, along the river. We need to stop him before there are more victims," I said, following the footsteps that curved up river. He'd walked north before entering the water. "Ideas, Sinon?"

She thought for a minute. "Even if he has that weird power, he's still basically a sniper. That puts him at a disadvantage in open spaces with few places to hide. I think he's headed into the abandoned city," she said, pointing to the skyscrapers in the distance.

"Okay. Let's make for the city," I said, beginning to walk.

"All right," said Sinon.

(X)

We raced across the field that led to the city, and reached the end of the river. "We didn't catch up to Death Gun," said Sinon. "Did we pass him somewhere?"

"No, no way…The whole time we ran, I watched the water," said Kirito.

"I see…" said Sinon. "Then he must be somewhere in the city already. The river ends there."

"Okay. So we'll wait for the next scan to identify his location, and take him out before he shoots someone else," I said.

"That's fine, but there's a problem. You haven't forgotten that 'Death Gun' isn't his character name, have you?"

"No, I haven't. There were 3 new players. We know that it wasn't Pale Rider, so it has to be Gunner X or Sterben," I said, walking into the city.

"If they're both in the city, we don't have time to wait," said Sinon. "Listen, I just had an idea…Gunner is like the Gun of Death Gun. And the X is like the cross gesture he made. Or is that too obvious?"

"Character names are usually obvious," Kirito said. "Mine's just my real name rearranged."

"Same here," said Sinon.

"I didn't even scramble mine. So, if both of them are here, we go after Gunner X. Even if we get paralyzed like Pale Rider, don't panic. Just get into sniping position," I said to Sinon. "Death Gun will come out to finish us with his black gun. Fire then."

"I might aim at you," she said.

"You won't. Now, let's go. Partner," I said, patting her shoulder.

"This is the only time I'm helping you, okay?" she shouted, racing after me.

(X)

We hid behind an upturned car as we waited for the satellite. The map faded into existence, and Sinon ordered me to check the east, and Kirito to check the north. After a few dots, we found them on the stadium. "There he is," I said, pointing to his dot. "Right now, Sterben isn't in the city."

"Yeah, only Gunner X," said Sinon. "So they must be Death Gun."

"He's probably after this guy," said Kirito, tapping on a dot that displayed the name Rikoko.

"We need to stop him before Rikoko is in firing range," said Sinon.

"Yeah," I said. "Back us up. We'll get Death Gun, you prepare to cover us."

"Got it," she said, putting up the map. We sprinted through the city to stop Gunner X. Sinon peered around the corner of a building, and then the stadium was there. I activated Eagle Vision, and I saw a gleaming barrel peering around the corner of a billboard. "There he is," said Sinon.

"Seems like he's still waiting for Rikoko. Okay, while there's still time, we'll hit him from behind. Sinon, you get into position in the building in front of the stadium," said Kirito.

"I was going to go with you…" said Sinon.

"You're a sniper," I said. "You'd be better covering us from a distance." She hesitated, before nodding. "We begin our attack 30 seconds after we split from you. Is that enough time?"

"Yeah. Plenty."

"Thanks," I said, and Kirito and I sprinted off. We ran into the stadium, and we took cover behind a few of the remaining stadium chairs. "You charge and do your deflecting thing, and I'll provide covering fire when you need it." He nodded, and we raced forward, me readying my carbine, and him activating his photon sword. We got to the top, and the lightsaber-like sounds coming from the sword alerted Gunner X. They spun around…and it couldn't be more obvious they weren't Death Gun. It was a woman, in a tight-fitting red dress, with a large gun. I fired, and she ducked down, firing her rifle from her crouched position. Kirito deflected the few bullets she got off before decapitating her with the sword. He deactivated his sword…and then collapsed. I rushed over to him, and the lightning effects on his body indicated another stun bullet. Then, I heard Death Gun's voice.

"I remember you, Corsi. I remember how calm you stayed in the heat of battle. No matter what happened, you stayed cool, and relied on your own skills. So now, if I kill this woman, and you stay calm, you are the real one." I whirled around, to see Death Gun was on the ground level, pointing his handgun at a limp Sinon. I instantly grabbed Gunner X's gun (longer range) and fired a few shots, and Death Gun scrambled for cover after one hit his arm, and another glanced his shoulder. I picked up Kirito's petite form, and leaped off the building. I hit the ground, and pulled my revolver out with my empty hand, firing randomly where Death Gun had disappeared too. I replaced the gun, and scooped up Sinon with my other hand, her gun weighing me down more than both people.

"Damn, Sinon. How do you carry this thing?" I muttered as I raced off.

"Seth?" she asked, sounding half-asleep. "That's enough. Leave me…"

"Sorry, can't do that," I said, ducking a shot that passed over my head. I saw another buggy rental, and ran faster into it. Inside were three buggies, and a robotic horse. As cool as the latter looked, the buggy was probably more practical for three people. I placed their figures into the back of one of the buggies and the engine belched to life as I paid for it. I spun the accelerator, and the tires spun as we launched forward. We drove for a bit, before I turned back to them. "Sinon, destroy the horse with your rifle." She glanced back.

"Okay, I'll try," she said, grabbing the gun. She lined up her shot, but her finger seemed to refuse to pull the trigger. "Why?" she asked, referring to no one in particular. "I can't do it," she almost whispered. "Why? I can't pull the trigger!" Suddenly, Death Gun raced around the corner, and started in our direction.

"Sinon, hang on!" I shouted, as we shot forward. I wondered why Kirito hadn't recovered, but Sinon seemed to be at least partially healed. Maybe he used a stronger stun bullet on Kirito. Death Gun retreated into the scenery as we raced down the road. "Damn it," I said, spying Death Gun hop on the horse and start after us.

"Why?" Sinon asked the air. "He'll catch us. Go faster," she shouted, clinging to my back. "GO! GO!" I pulled the accelerator as far back as it went, but the horse was still gaining fast. He pulled out his handgun, and a bullet raced past my left cheek. "NO!" she shouted, her arms wrapping around my chest. Another bullet hit the buggy, and he lowered the gun. "No…" Sinon whimpered. "Save me! Save me!"

"Working on it," I muttered as I checked my mirrors. "Can you hear me, Sinon? At this rate, he'll catch us. Shoot him."

"I can't!"

"You don't have to hit him. Just distract him!"

"I can't!" I felt her grip get even tighter. "He's…He's…"

"Then you drive!" I shouted. "And I'll take the shot!" Suddenly, her arms left my body, and I heard her set up the rifle.

"I can't shoot," she said. "I can't…My finger won't move. I can't fight anymore." 'Fuck it.'

"No, you can. Everyone can fight. It's a choice of whether you should!" I shouted. The way ahead of me was clear, at least for my plan it was, and I turned, trying to put one hand on hers, and keeping another on the handle-bars.

"If I have a choice, I choose not to fight," she muttered. "I don't want to suffer anymore. I thought I could be stronger in this world, but that was only an illusion." My hand reached hers, and I lightly pushed her finger back into the trigger guard.

"I'll shoot with you. So do it once…Just move your finger." Her finger met the trigger.

"I can't!" she shouted. "It's shaking too much to hit him." 'Wait for it…'

"The shaking will stop in 5 seconds! Two…One…Now!" I shouted as we launched into the air, ramping off a partially crushed car. Her finger squeezed the trigger, the kick of the gun knocking us forward a few feet, and the bullet clanged off a car near Death Gun. The gas tank sparked, and…BOOM. Death Gun and his mount were engulfed in a huge explosion as we hit the ground, tires still spinning. We slowed, and stopped long enough to watch the carnage, before I sped off into the desert. Kirito apparently had recovered, as he sat up as we rolled through the sand. I pulled the buggy to a stop, before glancing around for our next destination. "Jeez," I said, glancing at the dunes. "It's so wide open. There's no cover at all."

"There's probably a cave over there," said Sinon's voice, and she pointed off to the right. "If we go there, we can avoid the next satellite scan."

"Okay then. Let's go," I said, and sped off in the direction she'd indicated.

(X)

We did indeed find a cave, and I'd parked the buggy inside, and we were all resting on the sand. "He just appeared next to you, right?" I asked. "Can he make himself invisible? And why didn't he show up on the scan?"

"I think so. It's an ability called Metamaterial Optic-Distortion Camouflage. We should be all right here. The ground is rough sand, so even if he's invisible, he'll still make sound as he moves, and we'll see his footsteps. He can't just appear right next to us like last time," said Sinon, staring at the ground.

"Got it," said Kirito. "Then we need to keep our ears sharp."

"Is there any chance he died in that last explosion?" asked Sinon.

"I doubt it," I said. "Just before the truck blew, he jumped off the horse. He's probably severely wounded, but he's not dead."

"I see," she said, setting aside her gun. "At the stadium, how were you able to come to save me so quickly?" she asked me. "You two were on the outer rim, right?"

"Gunner X wasn't Death Gun. That much was clear from the beginning."

"How?"

"Gunner X was definitely a woman. That's when I thought that we'd missed something big. Then, Kirito went down from Death Gun's stun bullet, and I heard his voice. Taunting me."

"Plus," said Kirito. "If you care, her real name is Musketeer X."

"I used her rifle to shoot at Death Gun, and then grabbed you," I said, and that reminded me to reload my revolver. So I took the gun out, used the break mechanism to split it in half, and popped bullets into the chambers.

"If only I'd been more alert…" Sinon muttered.

"You shouldn't blame yourself so much," I said, snapping the gun back into one piece. "We didn't realize he was hiding either. If we'd changed positions, I would've been the one hit with the bullet, and you would have saved me. Right?" I saw her legs curl up to her chest, and her arms wrap around her knees. "Hey, Kirito? Time to go after him?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, leaping to his feet and running outside.

"You should probably stay here and rest a bit longer," I said to Sinon. "I'd rather you logged out, but that's not possible during the tournament."

"You're going to fight him…Death Gun?"

"Yeah. He's strong. To be honest, it'll be tough to beat him while dodging his bullets. If he points that gun at me again, I might just run. So it's not safe for you anymore."

"You're afraid of him, too."

"Well, I'm afraid of a lot of things. That creepy mask of his is on the list, yes. A while ago, I might have taken him on, even if it meant I would die. But now, I've got too much here. Too much to protect. I can't die now."

"Things you want to protect?" she asked.

"Yeah. In this world and the real one."

"Then just stay in this cave and hide. During BoB, you can't log out on your own. But as soon as it's just us and another, we can kill ourselves and let that person win. That'll end the tournament."

"I understand. That's one option…but I can't do that. If we just wait for the tournament to end, there's no telling how many other people he'll shoot his gun at."

"Oh," she said. "You really are strong," she muttered. I didn't make a comment, because I could tell she hadn't wanted me to hear that. "I won't run."

"Hmm?"

"I'll go outside and fight him, too."

"No, you won't. If he shoots you, you could die. I'm a close range type, and Kirito's even closer, but if he gets close to you, you're dead."

"I don't care if I die." My eyes narrowed. "Back there, I was so scared…I was so scared of dying. I was weaker than five years ago. Pathetic. Screaming. I'd rather die than live like that."

"Of course you're scared. No one is never afraid, but-,"

"I don't want to be scared. I'm tired of living in fear. I won't ask to come with you. I can fight on my own!" she yelled, standing up. I scrambled to my feet, and grabbed her wrist.

"You'll fight alone, and you'll die alone. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yeah. I think that's my fate. Let me go. I have to go!"

"You're wrong. No one dies alone. When someone dies, the part of them that lives inside someone else also dies. If you die, the part of you that lives in me also dies!"

"That's impossible. I've never given myself to anyone else."

"It's not something you willingly give! You hand it out to anyone who knows your name!" Suddenly, her hand shot out, grabbing the front of my hoodie and pulling me to her.

"Then…Then…You protect me for the rest of my life!" I think I made her mad when I gave a small nod. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she finally shook her hand from my grasp. "You don't know anything! You can't do anything!" She began beating on my chest with her hands, punctuating the end of every sentence with a hit. "Don't say that! This…This is my battle, and no one else's! Even if I lose, even if I die…No one has the right to blame me!" she shouted as she began to cry into my chest. "Or will you carry that burden forever? Will you…Will you…hold the hands of a murderer?!" She began hitting my chest again, her body shaking with sobs as she leaned on me. I tried to put an arm around her to console her, but she knocked it away. "I hate you!" she cried. "I hate you so much!" Kirito walked in the cave as she fell to her knees, but a quick glance at the scene in front of him sent him outside the cave again.

(X)

"I hate you, but…" We were sitting back on the ground, Sinon next to me, and Kirito on the other side of the cave. "Let me lean against you for a while," she said, sliding onto her side and resting her head on my thigh. "I…killed someone. Five years ago, there was a robbery at a post office in a small Tohoku town. The media said the robber died when his gun misfired. But actually, I was there, and I stole his gun. And I shot him to death."

"Five years ago?" I asked.

"I was eleven. Ever since then, whenever I see a gun, I throw up or pass out. Whenever I see a gun, I can see the face of the man I killed. And I get scared…So scared."

"But…" I said, glancing at the giant gun a foot away from her.

"Yeah. But in this world, I've been okay. So I thought…If I could be the strongest person in this world, I could be stronger in the real world. I could forget that memory…But back there, when Death Gun attacked me, I was scared. At some point, I stopped being Sinon. I was back to being the real me. I'm scared to die. But…But…Living in fear hurts just as much. If I run from Death Gun and those memories, without fighting, I'll become even weaker than I was. So…"

"I…" said Kirito from across the cave. "I…killed someone, too. We told you before that we knew Death Gun, from another game. The name of that game was Sword Art Online."

"Then you two really are…"

"Yeah," I said, looking back at her. "We're what they call SAO survivors. So is Death Gun. He was a member of a murder guild named Laughing Coffin."

"A raid-sized party was formed to imprison them. I was a member. The information was leaked, and we were ambushed instead. In the horrible chaos that followed, I killed two LC members with my own hands. But I forced myself to forget what I'd done. Until yesterday, when I met that man, Death Gun."

"Then Death Gun was a member of that guild you fought, Laughing Coffin?"

"Yeah. He has to be one of the ones who survived and was imprisoned. So…We have to finish things with him here, in GGO." I felt Sinon's finger trace some sort of pattern on my calf.

"Guess that makes you the only innocent one here, Seth." I chuckled, then my breathing turned ragged.

"Not exactly…I was a part of the raid party too, and I killed three. But that's not even the worst part…" Sinon's head perked up, and now she was staring at me. "There are people in this world that believe that people are incapable of keeping peace. That humans are no more than cattle to be herded around by the smartest, most powerful few. Those people are called Templars. I am what we call an Assassin. I have been trained from birth to hunt them down, and put an end to their schemes, whatever the cost. I don't even want to know the number," I said, pulling my hood down as low as it went. Silent tears rolled down my face, due to the emotion over-exaggeration-software, as I was forced to recount all the lives I'd taken.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

**Authors Note: I have planned my own arc after this one. That's all I'm saying for now.**

Sinon's arms went to my shoulders, and she pushed my back against the wall of the cave. "Seth, tell me one thing. How did you overcome those memories? How did you keep them from controlling your life? How are you able to be so strong now?"

I smiled sadly, gesturing to my teary eyes. "Who said I did? Last night, when I DID fall asleep, I had a dream. I was forced to relive taking lives. I don't think I'll ever be able to wash my hands clean of all the blood they've shed."

"Th-Then…Then, what do I do?"

"Sinon…I don't think YOU need to do anything," I said, putting my hand over hers. "I needed to accept what killing them meant, no matter what they planned to do. Doing that will earn me whatever redemption I can obtain."

"Accept?" she asked. Her hands slid off my shoulders, and she slid onto her side again, placing her head back on my thigh. "Death Gun. Whoever is wearing that cape is a real person, who actually exists, aren't they?"

"Yeah. If we knew their name from SAO, we could find their true name and address. That's why Kirito came here, and that's why I'm helping him."

"Oh…" Sinon said. "Then he can't forget about SAO, and he came to GGO because he wants to PK again?"

"I think it's more than that," said Kirito. "When he killed Zexceed and Lightly Salted Tarako…and when he killed Pale Rider in this tournament…He chose times when a lot of people were watching. That exaggerated cross sign…He's probably trying to appeal to a large mass of people. To show them he really has the ability to kill people from a game."

"But how is that possible?" Sinon asked.

"From what I heard, Zexceed and Tarako didn't die of brain damage, but heart failure," I said. "My current theory is that he's hacked the game, and the impact of a bullet from his gun sends a line of code to the Amusphere. That code tells the Amusphere to intercept the signals of your brain telling your heart to beat."

"No," said Kirito. "That was already investigated. The Amusphere can't do anything harmful to your body, and cause heart failure is on that list. To be honest, I can't even imagine how he's doing it. I'd like to think that there's no way to stop a player's heart by shooting them in a game."

"Wait," I said, holding up a hand. "Why did Death Gun use his handgun to shoot at me and Sinon, but he's only ever shot at you with his rifle? If he'd used his handgun to stop you interferring at the stadium, you would have died."

"That's true," he said, rubbing his chin. "Maybe it isn't that he didn't use it, but that he couldn't use it."

"How so?"

"That hangun. A reason he couldn't shoot it…His rifle…That cross sign he made…A cape that hides you…Conditions…Rules…" Suddenly, it all made sense.

"Wait, so he want's people to belive he can kill you by shooting you with his handgun, correct?"

"Correct."

"So that means, he want's people to believe it would kill WHOEVER he shot with it. If he shot someone with that hangun, and they didn't die, his whole scheme would be ruined. So there has to be a reason he can kill me or Sinon, but not you. Which means there really isn't a way to kill someone with a gun in a game. Just shooting them in-game isn't enough."

"What do you mean?" asked Sinon.

"What if you needed to make some preparations in the real world to kill someone by shooting them with a gun here?"

"Preparations?" she asked. "If that was the case, how would he find the player's real-world information? He doesn't know who they are."

"No, even a regular player could find their target's adress. The personal information slots for the sign-up. It's an open space with no privacy."

"No way," she said. "When we entered them, he was looking over our shoulders?"

"He can turn invisable, so it's not impossible. But I didn't enter my personal info, so how can he shoot at me?"

"AND," said Sinon. "He's logged in. He can't do anything in real life."

"No," said Kirito. "No, he can! There are two Death Guns…The first one is the beat up guy in the cape, in this world. He shoots the target in the real world. And the second enters the target's room in the real world and simultaniously kills the player." Sinon's eyes widened, and she sat up.

"Even if they know the target's true addresses, they'd need a key to get in. And what about others in their houses?"

"Zexceed and Tarako both lived along, in old apartment buildings. The electronic locks on the doors were probably older ones, with bad security. And when their target is diving in GGO, their actual body is completely unconscious. No matter how long it took for Death Gun to get in, there's no way they'd be noticed."

"Th-Then how do the victims die?" Sinon asked. "You said it was heart failure, right? Could you stop someone's heart in a way that's undetectable to police and doctors?"

"Oh, yeah. A simple syringe full of air can cause a heart attack. Or an undetectable poison of some kind, if they aren't aware of that fact," I said.

"But wouldn't they find that?" asked Sinon. "Like the pinprick from the injection, or the drug in their veins?"

"No. There are dozens of poisons that we haven't come up with ways to detect, and their bodies were in their rooms for days before they were found. Their flesh had already started to decompose, so it'd be easy to miss a small pinprick." Suddenly, Sinon's hands were grabbing my jacket again.

"No way," she said, shaking her head slightly. "Why would Death Gun do all that?"

"Some people simply like the fact that they can steal life from another living creature. It makes them feel powerful when they kill something small, like a neighborhood cat, or in this case someone in SAO. Then, when they don't get that same feeling from strangling Mr. Mittens, they move onto bigger targets. Or in this case, killing real people from inside a video game."

"Then the other Death Gun who's killing people in the real world is also…He might be another Laughing Coffin member," said Sinon.

"But the one in the game would need to line the time up with the real world Death Gun, to make sure his partner is in the room with the target," said Kirito. "Maybe that cross gesture is to camouflage checking his watch."

"It's smart," I said. "It's utterly evil, but it's smart." Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. The Templars employed one Laughing Coffin member. What would stop them from hiring all of them? That would explain how he knew where I lived. My building was ancient, as was the standard electronic lock for my room. Sure my deadbolts were in place, but…locks can be picked. "Sinon, do you live alone?"

"Y-Yeah. The door's locked, though. I have an old electronic lock, too. The chain…might not be locked."

"Ok...Kirito, you're logged in at that hospital, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, then that's the reason. He can't shoot at you, because there's someone there, watching over you. Sinon and I…" I turned my head back to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Listen. Stay calm and listen. When he was firing at us from his mount, he was aiming at me and you. That means the preparations are complete."

"Preparations? For what?"

"Death Gun's partner is in one of our rooms right now, watching the tournament, and waiting for one of us to be shot." Her eyes widened, and her iris' narrowed in fear. 'I shouldn't have said anything,' I thought.

"No…No! NO! I can't…" She started trembling, and her breathing grew short as adrenaline pumped into her veins. The fight or flight response took over as her heartbeats per minute skyrocketed. I grabbed her shoulders.

"Sinon! If the game logs you out now, you'll be in danger! The killer can't do anything until you're shot while you're in here. But if you leave the game, and see his face, you'll be in danger! I know you can do it. Calm down." Her breathing slowly returned to normal, and all strenth left her body as she collapsed against me. "I promise that you will not die today. You hear me? You are not allowed to die on me."

"But…But...I'm scared! I'm scared!" she shouted, pushing off of me, then pulling me back into a hug. 'Girls are weird.'

"I know. I am too." I thought about dying today. About never seeing the outside world again. About never seeing Rika again… "I'm terrified, in fact."

"Tell me what to do," said Sinon.

"Defeat Death Gun. Then his partner will disappear, unable to do anything. That's the rule they've set for themselves."

"Rule?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. Even killers have rules. I took a forensics class," (through the animus) ,"and heard about one guy who could only strangle his victims, only in rivers that were ten feet or shallower, and only on full moons. Strange, strange guy."

"But even without his Black Star, he's pretty good. Don't you remember? He dodged a shot from the Hecate at a hundred meters. And I don't think we can hide like this forever," she said, checking her watch. "The other players will realize we're hiding in this desert cave. At any second, we could be attacked by a grenade."

"Okay…"

"We've been a group this far. Let's fight together to the end," she said. I looked back into her fierce eyes.

"But if he shoots either of us with that hangun…"

"That thing's just an obsolete single-action. Even if he shoots at us, Kirito can just deflect it, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah. I won't let either of you get hit. But I still think it'd be better if he didn't see you two."

"But-," I started, then Kirito interrupted.

"You two can help, but you will cover her, just in case. Close range and long range combined? Talk about a powerhouse."

"Like I needed your permission," I grumbled, glancing down at Sinon. "That all right with you?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's do this," I said, grinning.

"During the next satellite scan," said Kirito, I'll show up on the map alone to draw out Death Gun. He'll probably hide far away and try to shoot me with the rifle. You two will use his shot to find his location, and you shoot him. How about it?"

"You're going to be a decoy?" she asked. He nodded. "Fine...We'll do that. But just be sure you don't get killed by the first shot."

"I'll try. But his rifle doesn't make any sound, and you can't see a prediction line on the first shot."

"Who was it who said you should anticipate the prediction lines?" she said sarcastically.

"That aside, Sinon…" Kirito glanced up, and so did i. A camera. 'Fuck.'

"I should have paid more attention," said Sinon.

"Um, what is that?" Kirito asked.

"A camera," I said. "Death Gun was talking into one of those things after he shot Pale Rider."

"Normally, it only focuses on battles, but there aren't many players left, so it came here," said Sinon.

"That's bad," I said. "Our conversation…"

"It's okay," she said. "It won't pick up voices unless you yell. Why not wave? Or is there somone you don't want seeing this?"

"N-No…" Rika, for one. "What about you? I think most people seeing this will assume you're BOTH women."

"I-It's fine. I don't care. If a rumor goes around that I'm into that, it means fewer people will go after me."

"Then I have to keep pretending to be a girl?" Kirito asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot…The first thing you did was pretend to be a girl to make me-," she stopped talking as the camera dissolved. "It's gone," she said. "It's nearly time. There are two minutes until the next satellite scan. We'll stay here," she said, standing up and still talking to Kirito. "You go outside and check your terminal, right?" I stood up along with Kirito as she grabbed her gun.

"Oh, come to think of it…" said Kirito.

"What now?" she asked. "There's no time to change the plan."

"No, the plan stays as it is. Not that…I was just thinking that, in the end, Death Gun's true name…Or I guess his actual character name is 'Sterben'."

"Oh, yeah. I guess so. What does it mean, I wonder."

"If I get close to him," he said jokingly, "I'll ask. I'll be outside," he said, leaving the cave.

"Be careful," said Sinon.

"Kick some ass," I called after him. He raised an arm in response as he left the darkness of the cave.

(X)

"Well?" asked Sinon when Kirito walked back inside.

"There should be six left. The three of us, Dark Wind, Death Gun, who doesn't appear on the map, and maybe one more…They might be hiding in a cave like we are."

"Just six left," Sinon muttered. "But it's been an hour and forty-five minutes. Considering the last match ended in just over two hours, we're basically matching the pace. It's strange that no one came to chuck a grenade in here."

"Yeah," I said. "It's possible that Death Gun has been looking for us, and killing anyone he saw with his rifle."

"Then he's sure to get the 'max kills' award," said Sinon. "Anyway, the problem is Dark Wind. You're the only survivor who showed up on his terminal. He'll definetly come for you."

"Is he strong?" asked Kirito.

"Last time, he came in second place. He's a typical agility build called the Run-Gun Demon."

"Ru…Run-Gun?"

"Run and Gun…A style where you run, shoot, and run again. He uses an ultra-lightweight machine gu, the Calico M900A. Last time, he lost to Zexceed's rare gun and armor and came in second, but some people say he's the better player."

"D-Does that mean he might be the best player on the Japanese GGO server?"

"Listen…If Seth's guess is right, right now, he or I are the only people Death Gun can kill. Because his partner needs to be near one of our homes. In other words, that means Dark Wind can't be killed by Death Gun. So I kind of hate to say this, but couldn't we use him as a decoy? If Death Gun shoots him, we'll know where he is. And you could say I'm doing something similar."

"You're strong, Sinon…"

"No, I'm just trying not to think about it. I've always been good at closing my eyes to something scary. Anyway, what about that plan?"

"Yeah, I'm basically in favor," said Kirito. "But something's been bothering me. All the players, including the dead Pale Rider, add up to 29."

"Are you saying Death Gun killed someone else after Pale Rider? That's impossible. His partner should be after me or Seth, right?"

"I've been thinking about it. There was only a half hour between Death Gun killing Pale Rider, and trying to shoot the two of you. That means, that with all of Japan, you two live within thirty minutes of each other. A little too convenient, don't you think?"

"But it's the only possibility."

"I met an ex-Laughing Coffin member, and he was working for the Templars as private security," I said. "That means there are 9 potential killers working for the Templars, and it would also explain how he knew where I live. But random killing isn't really their thing, so that means if Death Gun IS working for them, the Templars will be after him too. But anyway, there are no telling how many this Death Gun has on his side, so there could be one in every remaining player's homes. Mine, Sinon's, Dark Wind's…Hell, one might have even overpowered your nurse, Kirito."

"So," he said, after processing that, "That means they could all be waiting for Death Gun to shoot, and then kill us. So, we have to protect Dark Wind as well."

"N-No…You're telling me up to nine are involved in something so terrifying?" Sinon asked. "I called them player killers earlier. But I take that back. In this game, there are many who PK. I was in a squadron like that. But PKs have their own pride and resolve. Killing someone with poison whle they're full-diving isn't PKing. It's just a cowardly crime. It's murder. Which means we can't lose to people like that!"

"That's right," I said. "We can't let them get away with this anymore."

"I'll defeat Death Gun on this battlefield," started Kirito.

"And I'll make him and his real world partners pay," I finished.

"We'll handle Dark Wind," said Sinon. "I won't let Death Gun kill him. He's strong. Even you won't be able to take him out in one hit. While you're fighting him, Death Gun will go after you."

"Th-That might be true, but…"

"You said it too, right? I'm a sniper. If Seth and you act as my spotters and tell me their locations, I'll handle Dark Wind and Death Gun."

"I see," said Kirito. "Then I'll leave the sniping to you. The two of them must be getting close. I'll jump out in the buggy first. You two leave afterward and get to a position where you can attack." I nodded, and Kirito walked over offering us fistbumps. I took it, and Sinon tapped knuckles with him as well.

"Good luck out there, partner," she said.

(X)

Sinon and I took cover in the wreckage of…something, but it was definetly wreckage. We watched Kirito stand in the middle of the desert. "Dark Wind is coming from the west, so if Death Gun is going to open fire, it'll probably be from the east," said Sinon.

"We need to take out Dark Wind immediately," I said, scanning the horizon with my Eagle Vision. Suddenly, Kirito's sword activated, and pointed up at us, before cutting something out of the air to his right. "Why did he…" Suddenly, I heard a step. A footstep clanged against the metal wrekage, and I spun around, drawing my revolver. Dark Wind was there. How he'd seen us up here, I didn't know, but he knew. He fired off bullets, and I dove to the left, a bullet pounding into my abdomen, but none other hit me. I fired off a shot-gun like bullet, and Dark Wind went down, his entire face glowing bright red.

"NO!" shouted Sinon. I spun around to see Kirito had been fighting Death Gun while I dealt with Dark Wind. Dark Wind's bullets had sailed over the leaned platform…and Kirito hadn't noticed, since the target hadn't been him. He was lying on the ground, the red 'DEAD' pop-up glowing above him.

"Fuck," I whispered. "Okay." I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to say. "I'm going to get Death Gun. Cover me from up here." She gave a tight nod, and I leapt down from the wreckage. I fired my carbine as I got to my feet on the sand, and Death Gun leaned left and right, dodging the bullets, Agents from the Matrix style. He drew a large thin blade from his robe, an Estoc, and I finally realized who he was. One of the Laughing Coffin members had used an Estoc, Red-Eyed XaXa. I knew his name. He shot his pistol at me, and I dived to the left. Suddenly, Sinon's gun belched, and Death Gun dived to the right. I scrambled up to Kirito's body, unhooking the photon sword.

I hoped this game's death system worked like the Remain Lights from ALO, and I whispered a message as Sinon's gun kept Death Gun away from me for a second. "Call the cops the second you log out. I've got this guy. Don't worry." I activated the sword, and swung it. Kirito was right, the thing was light. I grinned. But so were my usual weapons. I held up my hand, and the sniper shots stopped. Death Gun rose slowly from behind a dune of sand, and brandished his Estoc. "Sterben, or do you prefer XaXa? When your old bosses kill you in prison, tell them something before you die. People like you," I shouted as he charged. I swung right, and he deflected with the quick strike, scraping my arm with his blade. "No, Scum like you!" I shouted, swinging in a downward arc. He locked blades with me, and I pulled my military knife from my arm. I used it to provide leverage as he shoved up. "You people come into these worlds, and think you can do whatever you want!" I shouted as I shoved hard with my knife and stabbed through his leg with the sword. He staggered back…then fired into my gut with his handgun.

I staggered back, blocking more strikes from his Estoc, and awaited the pain that Pale Rider had felt. But…It never came. I laughed, scarcely believing it. "Your buddy couldn't get in! You can't kill me!" I shouted, swinging the sword down again, half the battle's danger gone. I thought of something bad-ass to say as we locked blades. "But when your bosses decide to send more people in, there's a question I want them to ask themselves." I may not seem like it, but my mom made me grow up on pirated Doctor Who episodes. Now, while 15 is my favorite, it was time to channel my inner Matt Smith. "Are these worlds protected?" I barked, slamming my military knife into his side, slipping under his wide strike. "Because you aren't the first! There have been so many! Sogou! Their sabotage attempt yesterday! Their influence in SAO! And the question you've got to ask is…What happened to them?" I asked as I rolled under a wide horozontal swipe. I popped up off the sand, leaped forward…and ran the energy sword through his chest. I leaned in, placing the military knife just under his mask. "Hello. I'm Seth Corsi, and I'm an Assassin. Basically…" I dragged the blade across his neck. "Run," I said, then I stabbed my knife into the back of his skull.

I left the blades in his body as he fell to his knees, then onto his face, and dropped to my knees, breathing heavily. I hadn't fought like that in weeks. Suddenly, somehow, Death Gun spoke. "It isn't over yet. I won't let it end until they find out, and…" His glowing eyes dimmed, and the red 'DEAD' pop-up appeared. I somehow got to my feet, and glanced at the wreckage. Sinon was walking across the desert, rifle in hand.

"It is over, XaXa," I spat out at his corpse. "Laughing Coffin is finished. Remember that in prison." I walked to meet Sinon in the middle of nowhere, stopping before I got too close. I smiled slightly, and she grinned back. I offered another fist-bump and she took it. I glanced up at the sky, and there were several camera's floating overhead. "We should probably finish this."

"Yeah, we should."

"With Death Gun gone, his partner should have left," I whispered. "But I'd rather check on you just to be sure. On the off chance that he hasn't, I want you to keep him talking until I get there. By the way, I'll need your address." She gave a small smile, and whispered it into my ear. As it turns out, she only lived a few streets away. What I didn't expect was her name.

"My name is Asada Shino," she whispered as she leaned back.

"You only live a few streets away, so I should be there soon. Remember, if he's still there, feed his ego, and keep him talking." She shook her head slightly.

"Always so serious. But you really don't need to check on me. There's a friend near me that I trust."

"I'd feel better knowing the job is done. Plus, there may be the chance that I'll catch him as he leaves." She raised her hands slightly in surrender.

"Fine."

"Kirito should have called the cops, so I'll text him the adress to send them there as well."

"Okay. So, are you just going to have me reveal my personal info, and that's it?" she said with a glare.

"Ah, right. Well, for the Japanese order, my name is Corsi Seth." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"You just used your last name?"

"Shut up," I said with a laugh. She started laughing too. "Now, to log out, I believe you wanted to shoot me." I stepped back, and spread my arms. "Go ahead. Or do you want me to fight back?" I asked, dropping my right hand to my revolver.

"You're a mess," she said, eyeing the gunshot in my stomach and the scratches on my body. "If I beat you here, I couldn't take pride in it at all. We can fight in the next BoB tournament. Now, let's go end this," she said, drawing something from the back of her belt.

"How?" I asked. "Unless one of us loses all of their HP, there's no winner. And I doubt you want me to kill you."

"They say that the first BoB had two winners. Because," she said, grabbing my right hand with her left, "the person who was going to win lowered their guard, and got hit by a present grenade."

"A present grenade? What's that?" I asked as she turned my palm to the sky. She put a small ball in my hands, and hit a button on the top. It glowed red and started bleeping. I tossed it into the air with a yelp, bouncing it back from hand to hand. Suddenly, she practiaclly tackled me in a hug. Then…We both exploded. At the log-out screen, I checked the two who had disconnected. Pale Rider, and Garrett. 'So he does have more than two partners,' I thought as the game logged me out.

(X)

I woke up in the darkness of my room. There was, again, a figure in my room. My blade silently slid out of my sleeve, and I reached up to take off the Amusphere, pretending not to notice. I sat up, sighed loudly, and stood up. Then, I darted to the right. I used the same tactic as yesterday, slamming the figure up agianst the wall, and racing my blade towards their neck. Then, again, I stopped. It was, again, Rika. "Again?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I saw you going up against Death Gun, and I got worried. So I came here, to make sure you were okay. I saw someone trying to pick the locks on your door, so…" she gestured to the corner of the room, where there was a dark, huddled figure, and then to door, where a bent golf club rested against the counter.

"You knocked out a killer with a random golf club?"

"Yes."

"I love you," I said with a grin. Then I remembered Shino. I grabbed some large-sized Zipties from a drawer and walked past Rika, who was giving me a strange look. "Zipties. Handcuffs, in a pinch," I said, tying his wrists together, then the figure's ankles. Then, I connected the Zipties together with another one, hog-tying him. I texted Kirito, telling him Shino's adress, and grabbed my helmet off the counter, tossing Rika my spare.

"Where are we going?"

"To check on a friend."

(X)

I pulled up to Asada's apartment building, tearing off the helmet, before turning to Rika, who was getting off the back of the bike. "Stay here," I said.

"No. Way."

"There could be a murderer in there! I don't have time for this! Just stay here," I said, tearing off towards the building. I activated my phone's bluetooth, and hooked it up to Shino's electric lock, and the decryption software put there by the Assassin's did it's work. The door's lock silently clicked open, and I crept in, hearing words come from the other room.

"Asada.." a creepy voice was saying, and the tone in the guy's voice made me activate my blade. Then I heard a hit. I heard struggling from the other room, and I sped up, the noise allowing me some leway when it came to being heard. Suddenly, a door was flung open, and I could hear a woman's voice as Asada struggled through the darkness. I grabbed her, dragging her into the darkness, clapping a hand over her mouth as she began to struggle.

"Shh," I said, quietly as I could. I felt her relax as she recognized my voice, and I stood up, walking to the male who was whirling around in the dark, trying to find her. I activated Eagle Vision, and saw a syringe in his hand. The real Death Gun. I tackled him. He shoved me off of him, and the back of my head hit Asada's counter. I puched wildly in front of me, and I felt my fist connect with his nose, and a warm fleck of…liquid told me I'd broken it. I launched up, but he shoved me away, and I landed in her bedroom. The back of my head hit her bed, and it took me longer to recover. The kid took advantage of this, getting on top of me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted. "Stay away…Stay away from my Asada!" His hands wrapped around my throat, and I found myslef in that position again. Then, the hands at my throat were gone, and instead he was punching me in the face. My hands rose to guard, and then he stopped. He did something, and then I heard Asada's voice.

"Seth!" she shouted, and I saw him rear back, syringe in hand. The syringe plunged into my chest, and the plunger depressed. Asada scrambled into the room, looking around, as the kid started to laugh. He stopped when she hit him with her stereo. He fell off to the side, and she ran over to me. "Seth!"

"He got me," I groaned. "When did syringes start looking like that?"

"Where?" she asked. "Where did he inject you?" I writhed as the drug started affecting my muscles. I could feel the ones in my leg starting to go limp. "Don't die…" she whimpered. "Don't die like this!" She lifted up my shirt…then wiped what I assumed to be blood off my jacket. "Um…Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"Why isn't there an injection point?"

"Huh?"

"There's no wound." I scanned my memory…then laughed out loud.

"Thank you, paranoid Japanese assassins! You just saved my life!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, giving me a weird look.

"I wanted to keep my usual cloak when I came here, but they gave me this one," I said, gesturing to my now-unzipped-up hoodie. "I forgot it's infused with kevlar, just like mine in the game, so it blocked that weird syringe. Had he used a normal one, I would have been SCREWED! Whoo. I was scared there for a second." I sighed, and then Asada's hands were tugging at my jacket.

"That's my line, moron! I thought you were going to die," she said, her voice trembling with fear. I glanced at the kid off to the side.

"Is he okay?" I asked. I struggled to get up, my head pounding, and checked his pulse. 29 BPM. Normal. "Yes. Yes, he is." I turned back to Asada, sliding my hidden blade out, grinning. "I could fix that," I said jokingly. She frowned and shook her head, and I pretended to be disappointed.

"Thank you for coming."

"In the end, it was luck that saved me. Sorry I was late, though. Are you hurt?" I asked as she gave me a strange look. She looked at the ground, then started trembling as tears fell from her face. I scooted across the ground, and put my hand on her shoulder.

(X)

I pulled up outside Asada's school. I was supposed to pick her up to bring her to Kirito's debreifing. I was supposed to come too, and I was debating on whether or not to bail. Asada texted me directions, and I walked inside the school, ignoring the strange looks from it's students. I saw Asada on the other side of a courtyard, sitting on a bench. I started to walk over to her, when I saw three girls walk around the corner. "Don't call me here and keep me waiting," Asada said, standing up. I narrowed my eyes. She'd told me to meet her here, but evidenly, she was not the chooser of the location.

"Asada, you've been a little cocky lately, haven't you?" said the girl on the right.

"Yeah, it's a bit much, isn't it?" asked the girl on the left. The girl in the middle stepped forward, and tried to stare Asada down. She simply stared calmly back.

"It's fine," said the girl that I assumed was the leader. "We're friends. But of course, if we're in trouble, you'll help us, right? For now, 20,000 yen will be enough. Lend it to me." My eyebrows shot up as I heard the number. For those less informed of you, the leader had just asked for about 175 dollars casually. I started to walk over to defuse the situation, but Asada simply adjusted her glasses.

"I told you before," she said. "I'm not lending you any money."

"I seriously did get it from my brother today," said the leader. I didn't know what 'it' was, and I didn't want to find out.

"Hey, Asada!" I called from across the yard. She turned to look at me, shot me a smile and a wave, and turned back to the girl as I kept walking.

"Do what you want," Asada said. The girl reached for something in her backpack, and pulled out a handgun. Now, I was sprinting.

"He told me never to point it at anyone, but you're fine, right? Now cry," the girl said. I was there in a flash, standing between Asada and the gun. The leader stepped back, alarmed by my sudden appearance. Then she recovered, and pointed the gun right between my eyes.

"Stay out of this, whoever you are," the leader said. It was obvious the gun wasn't a fake, but an airsoft. It was more apparent this girl had no idea how to use it.

"You know something?" I asked her, keeping my face calm.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Your safety's on."

"What's that?" she asked. 'Is it possible to be that stupid?'

"It's something that keeps the gun from firing. Here, let me show you." My arms shot up, gripping her wrist hard and turning it. I stole the gun easily by twisting it out of her grip. Then I was the one with the gun, and the girls looked very scared. I twisted the gun, pointing it up, and displaying it's side to the girls. I pointed to the small cylinder that was the safety. "This is what kept you from shooting me in the face. Asada? Want to show them how it's done?" I asked, holding the gun behind my back. I felt a hand flip it out of my grip, and then Asada had the gun.

"A Government 1911, huh?" she said, turning the gun over in her eyes. "Your brother has good taste," she said as I stepped aside. "Not my preference. Most guns DO require you to take the safety off first, as my friend so generously demonstrated." She hit the button, and aimed at a soda can standing on a blue pail. The gun squeaked, and the can flew off. She lowered the gun, and we both turned to the girls.

"C-Crap…" stuttered the leader.

"It's dangerous to point it at anyone," said Asada. She flipped the safety back on, reached out, and put the gun back in the girl's hand. "Here you go," she said. The girl fell to her knees as the two of us started to walk back to my bike.

"You did well back there," I said.

"Thank you," she said. "Oh, wait. Bye," she said, talking to the girls. We rounded the corner, and she practically collapsed.

"Woah, are you okay?" I asked.

"This is my first step…" I heard her mutter. "Fine," she said to my face, and then we walked down the road to my bike.

**Authors Note: And that marks the end of the GGO arc! As I said in the begginning, I am coming up with my own arc that has nothing to do with SAO. It's just for a couple of chapters, and yes, I will be bringing Rika along for the ride. So you guys have that to look forward to…So…yeah...**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Authors Note: Ok, so this chapter is just going to involve Assassin's Creed, with Rika and maybe a phone call or two from other SAO characters. If you're addicted to the SAO aspect of this story, you might want to step out for a few chapters. This arc takes place between the GGO arc and the Caliber arc, so that's where I'm going to pick back up. And, I feel that I need to state how I deal with these people's names, because goddamn it's confusing. I use Kirito's name in both the game and real life, because everyone else does. But with Rika and all the other characters, I use their real names in the real world, usernames in the game. Got that? Good. Also, as it turns out, I DID inherit my mom's migraines, so you motherfuckers better be feeling lucky I can see straight, let alone write a new chapter. Sorry. If I seem irritable, it's because I am.

I finished packing up my stuff, throwing all my essentials in a backpack. I was leaving the country for a few weeks, for two reasons. One, the Templars had discovered where I live, as evidenced by Death Gun, and I had to disappear for a few weeks as the Assassins got me a new place with a new identity. Two, my mom was inviting me home for Christmas. We're both atheists, as being an Assassin requires, but we agree that it's a good excuse to get together. She also wanted to meet Rika, which I was slightly alarmed about. Rika's parents had agreed, for some reason, and we were leaving soon. I threw my pack onto my back, and took a glance back at the room I'd lived in for a year. I opened the door, and walked out.

(X)

I knocked on the door of Rika's home, and she threw open the door, tackling me in a hug for a greeting. "Well, hello to you too," I said, prying her off me. She was grinning, and gestured to 4 bags. "Ok, that's not going to work."

"What?"

"You have four bags. You DO realize I drive a MOTORCYCLE, right?"

"Well, what do you expect me to do? We're going to America, I don't know what I'll want to wear!"

"OK, just grab one bag. They're letting me keep the card, so we'll get you some clothes when we get there." She grudgingly picked up one bag, and I helped her carry the rest back to her room. I greeted her father as I walked past him, and he politely responded in turn. He hadn't been a fan of me when we'd first met, but after several life-saving stories from SAO, he warmed up. I HAD gotten a kick out of when he'd tried to test my 'Americaness' by switching between Japanese and broken English in conversation, and I transitioned effortlessly between the languages. I dumped the bags in her room. "What's in these thing? Rocks?"

"Clothes. Books. My computer."

"Ok, you will need that last one. And your Amusphere."

"Why?"

"I've got a plan for the flight. Trust me, you'll love it. Plus, you might need it once we get there." She relented, and tugged the laptop out of the tight bag. I took it from her, shrugging off my backpack and tucking it next to mine. I shrugged the pack back onto my shoulder, and we left the room. I stood by the door as her family said their goodbyes, waving, hugging, all that emotional stuff. I'd never really understood that. My mother was never really motherly with me while I was growing up, and my dad died during a Templar ambush when I was 1. My mom had always been my mentor first, and I praised the days when she brought in pumpkin seeds, because they meant she was in an exceptionally good mood. In fact, the only time I'd ever seen her cry or actually seem worried about me was when I woke up from SAO. She finally tore herself away from her parents, and I put her bag on the back of my bike. My backpack went on her shoulders, since she was riding in the back, and we drove to the airport.

(X)

On the plane, I was typing quickly, putting the finishing touches on my simulation's program. I glanced around, and Rika was staring intently at the lines of code dashing across the screen. "What are you doing?" she asked quietly. Even though most people were wearing Amuspheres, as we would be in a moment, it was best not to bother the conscious passengers.

"Trying to set something up."

"What?"

"Well, if you'd give me…just…one…second," I said, inputting the final lines of code, "You'll find out. Alright. Amusphere time." She sighed, and connected her Amusphere up to my computer. I loaded the program, and the Amusphere beeped quietly to show the download was done. She slipped the Amusphere on her head, and whispered the command words.

"Link start!" Her body went slack as the device stole her brain, and I made sure everything was fine. Her mind was in the right place, her avatar was set up. Yep. Expert programmer. Suddenly, a red warning flashed up on the screen. Well…Average programmer. I input some code, and the warning disappeared. Forgot to despawn the enemies. Whoops. I grinned, and put my Amusphere on.

"Link start!" I whispered.

(X)

After the rush of colors, I spawned in a dark room, and narrowly dodged a slab of wood that was swung at me. "Whoa! Liz! Liz, it's me!" Liz walked out of the shadows of the room, and put the baseball bat back in the sling I'd provided. Her avatar's body was modeled after her ALO one, that is to say her real body, but instead of her normally poofy clothes from ALO, she was wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pink hoodie. I glanced down at my body, and I was wearing my usual clothes. Black hoodie? Check. Blue jeans? Check. Red t-shirt? Check. Katana in a sheath on my back? Check. Hidden blade and tomahawk? Check. Good, that all worked as well.

"Where are we?"

"You remember that simulation I made with the Seed?"

"Yeah…Are we in there?"

"Yeah. I made a LAN server with the plane's internet."

"So…you never told me. What happens here?"

"Basically? It's a zombie game." I've always had an obsession with zombies. I don't know what it is about them. But a shambling corspe that can't feel pain or fear, will tackle a task with all the strength it is capable of until it dies or the task is complete, and is almost unlimited in number? It's a great training tool. "There are random survivors across the city that will provide rewards if we do stuff for them, and if you make it out of the city, you win." Liz tugged the baseball bat out of it's sling.

"So what is this?"

"Seriously? It's a baseball bat. In the sport, athletes use it to hit a ball as far as they can. In here, you use it to bash heads open."

"Well that's…"

"Violent?"

"Awesome!"

"I thought you'd like it," I said. "System command! Spawn enemy, type 1, amount 1." The room briefly glowed with light as a zombie spawned in the room. It lurched towards me, but I grabbed it's torso, turning and throwing it down to the ground. It tried to get back up, but I slammed my foot down on it's chest, pinning it to the ground. "Now, this is the standard enemy. I call them walkers, because that's what they do. They walk at you, and try to bite you."

"What happens if they do?"

"You get about 10 minutes of in-game time, and then your avatar dies. But when you spawn back, if you can kill your zombified avatar in another ten minutes, you get all your stuff back."

"So what do I do with them?"

"Have you never seen a zombie movie? You use the big stick in your hand to bash it's skull open. Destroy the brain, destroy the zombie," I said, drawing the katana on my back out of it's sheath and effortlessly chopping off it's head. The skull rolled in her direction, still trying to bite, as it's body went limp. "Now, kill it." She grinned, raising the baseball bat and slamming it down on it's skull. The skull shattered as the bat made impact, and the head instantly froze in death. A pop-up appeared as the system recognized that all enemies within 10 meters were dead, not even moving my exp bar, but Liz advanced a level. She grinned in excitement as she leveled up her blunt weapons skill. "You ready to kick some ass?"

"Let's do it."

(X)

After 10 hours of zombie killing, Liz had gone through many weapons, changing from a wooden baseball bat to a metal one, then to a crowbar, then to a mace, which was obtained from a ultra-rare quest for a weapons collector that I'd programmed in for her. But anyway, we got off the plane in Salt Lake City, and my mom was there to pick us up. She was about the same height as Rika, with long blonde hair, pale skin and slightly sunken cheeks. She gave me a hug as we got up to her, and Rika formally introduced herself. In Japanese. 'Oh, this is going to be a long few weeks,' I thought as I saw the confusion on my mom's face.

Authors Note: This IS going somewhere. Promise. I'm just really tired, and I thought you guys could use a chapter today. Also, if any of you make the game I mentioned, when we eventually make VRMMOs, you will automatically become my bestest friend in the entire universe. Got it? Yay.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

**Authors Note: Please review, guys! I live for the few words you bother to type, so please, please review!**

It was a few days before Christmas, and we were all having fun. Acting as a translator was tiresome, but kind of fun. I could filter out all the embarrassing stories my mom tried to tell, and, in turn, avoid any questions about my relationship with Rika. Anyway, we'd just finished dinner, when my mom got a call. The Templars we're planning something, I never found out what, and they needed her help to make an ambush. I offered to go with her, but she refused, saying it should be a simple hide and pounce operation, and she'd be back before the morning. She apologized profusely as she left, giving me a quick hug as she threw on her coat, and then she was gone.

…The next morning…I woke up to a knocking at the door. I opened the door…And the Assassin there invited himself in, and told me…Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be…He told me that my mom had died. Whatever the ambush was sent to stop was bait for a Templar ambush. There was a brawl…and my mom didn't make it. He placed her hidden blade on the table in-between us, a silver thing with purple rose designs etched into the blade.

I didn't believe it. I COULDN'T believe it. My mom, who'd trained me since birth to kill Templars, died because of the Templars? It couldn't have happened. I panicked. I went into my room, threw on my Amusphere, and escaped. I've heard that there are stages of grief, and that one of them is anger. Uncontrollable rage. I think the world should be thankful that I had zombies to vent my frustrations onto. I assume that the Assassin in my house found Rika, and told her everything, somehow, because when she came to get me out, she knew. I'd just slammed my tomahawk into the top of a zombie's head, and scrambled back into my safehouse to repair my weapons before going back out there. I started sharpening my blades, when Liz spawned. She glanced around, and, finding me, walked over. She tried to hug me, but I held up a hand. "Don't."

"I just want to help."

"I know. But right now, I'm liable to kill anything that moves, so please…don't. Did the guy say who?"

"Yeah. He wrote everything down, and I used an online translator. They said that the technuiqe was signature to a Templar named Dorian Mayhew."

"Dorian. Who names their kid Dorian?" I said, with a cruel bark of a laugh.

"Seth? Are you okay?"

"No. No, I'm not," I said. I felt the anger that had been powering me for an hour fail me, replaced by…Nothing. Just…an emptiness. "I just…I need to do something. Right now, that means killing zombies until I come up with a punishment for Mr. Mayhew."

(X)

I'd tracked Mayhew to an old apartment building. I was leaning over the edge of his building, waiting for him to show up so I could find his room, when I heard someone else hoist themselves up the edge of the building. I whirled around, my hidden blade sliding into my left palm, and my mom's joining my fingers on the edge of my right hand. Rika was there, that same look of pity on her face that she'd had for the previous few days. "What are you doing here?" I asked as my blades retracted.

"I came to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk."

"I know! All you've been doing these past few days is obsessing over this Mayhew guy! You haven't even given yourself time to grieve! Your mom died! You're hurting, and you're trying to pretend you're not. It isn't healthy, and I just…I'm worried."

"What would you do?" I asked quietly.

"What?"

"I said, what would you do? If your mother died, and you knew you could have been there? I wanted to go, to help her, but she refused. I could have been there. I might not have been able to save here, but…I could have done something, but I didn't. And that…that hurts worse than any wound. So, I ask again, what would you do?"

"I don't know…I'd probably cry a lot…"

"And I'd be there to let you greive, but I'd also know when to step back, and let you figure things out. That's what I need for you to do. Just step back, and let me deal with this on my own. If dealing with this means putting so many holes in Dorian Mayhew that the cops will mistake him for a sponge, then that's what I'll do!" I think my words shocked her a little. I glanced back over the edge, and Dorian's favorite jacket walked into the building. "Gotta go," I said, dropping off the building. I grabbed a flagpole a floor down, using it to slow my descent, then grabbed a ledge and climbing down the rest of the building.

I walked in the front door, making sure my hood was still covering my face. I scaled the stairs after Dorian, silently making my way across the creaky floorboards. Doing that brought up a memory. My mom had just finished teaching me how to walk silently on tile, and now was my test. I was to get upstairs, into her room, and tap her on the shoulder without making a sound. I was ten, and starting to get a bit rebellious, so, of course, I had to challenge her expectations. Instead of creeping around on the ground like she expected me to do, I went into the basement, and got into the crawlspace between the inner walls and outer walls. I'd silently crawled up to the second floor, into the sub-ceiling, and carefully pulled up one of the ceiling tiles. I lowered myself down, my feet hooked into the support beams for the ceiling, and tapped her on the top of the head. She jumped, she obviously hadn't heard me, and hit the top of my head with hers. I instantly recoiled in pain, and dropped onto her from the ceiling. I'd expected her to yell, saying how I hadn't completed the test, but…she just laughed. She gave me a zip-lock bag of pumpkin seeds, ruffled my hair and said "Good Job." The memory only pissed me off as my eyes bored into the back of her killer's head.

After Dorian went into his room, I waited a bit before picking the lock on his door and quietly letting myself in. It was late now, so I expected for him to be in bed. He wasn't. He was standing there, waiting. "Took you long enough," he said cockily as my hidden blades slid out. "So. You're here to avenge dear old mommy?" I looked up into the face of my mother's killer…but…I KNEW that face. I'd never met Dorian Mayhew before, but I knew him. Where? Where did I know this man from? Then, it hit me. It hit me just like Rika did a second later.

"I can't let you do this," she said, trying to drag me out of the room. I held up a hand, still looking at Dorian.

"What?" he said with a laugh. "Do I have something on my face? A bit of mommy's blood, perhaps?" Now, I was the one holding Rika back. She hadn't understood the words, but the pain on my face was apparently enough.

"I'm going to tear that smug look off your face-,"

"Stop, Rika," I said, and she gave me a look of disbelif as I kept my eyes on Dorian. "Your name isn't Dorian Meyhew."

"Of course it is."

"No. No, it isn't. Your name is Lucio Coy."

"Seth, what are you talking about?"

"Will you two stop speaking gibberish? I thought you were going to kill me, and now you're trying to confuse me? Is that it?"

"Of course," I said with a wave of my hand, as if dismissing something. "You wouldn't remember. All that psychological reconditioning, and all. In fact, you won't remember anything. Ever. Unless I say 'In every corner, there lurketh a ghost.'" His face went from cocky to terror in an instant.

"Seth, I am SO, so sorry." I silenced him with a wave of my hand.

"Shut up," I said, rubbing my temples. "You weren't in control of your actions, so…as much as I hate to say it…You aren't my target. So, YOU are innocent, but someone isn't. You weren't supposed to be able to hurt Assassins, so that means-,"

"Whoever programmed me was traitor," Lucio finished.

"Hold on!" shouted Rika, throwing up her hands. "Does someone want to explain?"

"Lucio is a sleeper agent. We were at the Farm together, but he failed out of the stealth classes, so the Assassins took a different approach. Psychological training made him turn into the Templar Dorian Mayhew, until his code phrase was uttered. Designed to be the perfect spy, one who doesn't even know he's spying. But, like I said, he shouldn't have been able to actually hurt any Assassins. Which means, we need to get ahold of your handler."

"Handler? I thought you said he didn't know he was a spy."

"Yeah, but every three sleeper agents have a single handler watching over them. They make sure covers stay intact, and occasionally bring them out of cover for mission reports." I finished the Japanese, and switched to English. "Lucio? What's their name?"

"…"

"Well, c'mon, spit it out."

"Davis Hughes." My jaw dropped.

"The…Davis Hughes? What the hell did you do to get THE Assassin as a handler?"

"I found an opening to get to the Templar spymaster."

"Well. This is bad. If THE Assassin programmed you to be able to hurt Assassins…This is bad."

"What does that mean?" asked Rika.

"It means…We have a traitor in our midst. The leader of the American Bureau is either a sleeper agent himself, or just a really good spy. Lucio, it's time to put that Intel to use. Where can I find the spymaster?"

(X)

With Lucio's Intel, finding the head of the Templar spies was too easy. I walked in the front of his building, waving past the guards with a stolen ID card. I punched the access code into the elevator, and it took me to his private floor. When the elevator dinged onto his floor, an alert was sent to his desktop, and he went to check it out. But when he got to the Elevator doors, I'd already worked my way into the building's rather spacious sub-ceiling. I crawled above him as he worked his way back to his desk, and I dropped through the ceiling behind him onto his carpeted floor. I slid my mother's blade into my palm and pressed it to the front of his neck. "Hands up," I said as I saw his fingers start to reach under the table. "We wouldn't want my arm to slip, now would we?"

"What do you want, Assassin? Are you here to kill me?"

"Possibly. Probably, actually. But I might make your death a quick one if you tell me what I want."

"And what's to stop me from calling my guards before you kill me?"

"This," I said as a virus built by the Bureau overloaded the local power grid. They'd already been working on it for escape plans, but I'd accelerated their schedule. The room went dark, and I had approximately five minutes before the error detection software rooted out my little bug.

"The building has it's own generator," he said cockily as the room lit back up.

"Oh, I know." The room went dark again as Lucio and Rika sabotaged the generator in the basement. "Now, my question. I know about Davis Hughes. Spy or sleeper agent?"

"Sleeper."

"I want his code phrase."

"What makes you think I'll just hand it-" My blade pressed harder against his neck, and a stream of blood ran down his throat.

"The code. Now." His Adams apple moved as he gulped.

"The cross sleeps with the eagles." None of the tale-tell signs of lying appeared on his face, and people aren't generally good at concealing those when they're about to die.

"Thanks," I said, removing my blade from the front of his throat before plunging it into the side. I slid the knife back out, and the man fell out of his chair, gasping for air, and grabbing at his wound. I opened the window in the rear of the room, which was locked from the inside, and climbed down the side of the building as the city's power was restored. I landed on the ground, shoving my hands in my pockets, walking around the side of the building and blending in with the crowd as I headed to the regroup point.

(X)

I'd been sitting on the bench for an hour. Rika and Lucio were supposed to be here. I pulled out my phone to text her, but got a message that interrupted my typing. "Come to the Bureau. We have traitors to punish." I raised an eyebrow. Maybe the others had discovered Davis's treachery? I shoved my phone back into my pocket and headed for the Bureau.

(X)

I was standing in the line of Assassins. The Bureau was set up much like the one's of old, with a long, rectangular temple for a main hall, and with many rooms branching off of corridors. The twenty people who'd achieved the title of Assassin were standing in two lines on either side of the middle of the temple, and the Master Assassin was standing at the front. Davis Hughes. I was going to wait till the end of the ceremony, then confront him in private. "We have three tenants. The people we've come to punish have broken the third. What is the third tenant?"

"Never compromise the Brotherhood," said twenty men and women in unison.

"And the people brought in front of us sought to disrupt a 2 week operation! Recruits! Bring forth the traitors!" 'Says the Templar sleeper agent,' I thought with a silent laugh. That laugh caught in my proverbial throat as two hooded figures threw Lucio and Rika into the room. "These two stole a dangerous virus from our servers, and used it to cause this morning's blackout! The punishment for compromising the Brotherhood, as we know, is death!"

"No!" I shouted, stepping out of line, and turning towards Davis. "One of these men is a sleeper agent that I had to awaken. He was still dazed from his transition when he committed these actions, and therefore was not in control of his decisions. Furthermore, one of these is my personal recruit, and I have the option to take on her punishment. I accept the responsibility." Davis gave me a strange look as he considered my words.

"I accept your defense of the girl," he said, dismissing Rika. She gave me a worried look as she walked off to the side, but I responded with a wink. "But the man must die. He violated his orders." I was brought to my knees by two Assassins behind me, and Davis walked up to me, producing a large dagger from his cloak. "Do you have any last words, traitor?" he asked as he pressed the dagger to my exposed neck.

"Yes. Six, to be exact. The cross sleeps with the eagles," I said confidently, and the words had an instant affect on Davis. He dropped the knife, clutching his head as his original memories and personality flooded back. I shoved the Assassins of of me, and stood up. "Davis Hughes. I accuse you of violating the third tenant of the Assassins. You have compromised the Brotherhood by infiltrating our ranks as a Templar Sleeper agent. The punishment is death. Do you have any last words?" I asked.

"Yes," he said through heavy breaths. He produced a gold ball from his cloak, and shoved it into the air. "Obey!" he shouted as light shot out of the Apple of Eden. It hit everyone in the room, me included, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head. I heard thousands of voices, all whispering the same thing Davis had shouted. And one of them…I heard my mother's voice.

"Just give in," she said. "Just let go." Her voice was probably meant to make me submit. It didn't. I struggled to my feet, and staggered back as even more voices flooded my head. The light disappeared, and the voices stopped. Davis stood there, at the front of the room, apple in hand, grinning madly.

"Assassins! I am your king! You will obey me!"

"Yes, master," the room muttered in unison. I even heard Lucio and Rika's voices in the mix.

"Fuck! Off!" I shouted. Rage had blinded me. In hindsight, I should have acted like a slave until I got close to kill the guy…but this guy had caused the death of my mother, and now he'd brainwashed the only one left that I cared about. Fuck caution.

"Is that a challenge, Corsi?" Davis asked, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah. Yeah it is. I challenge you for the title of Master Assassin."

"I think you mean, King of the Assassins. And you should know, when you fight a king, you fight his kingdom!" he shouted, and there was a resounding SHUNK as hidden blades slid out throughout the room. "So. After all this strife, which one of us do you think is going to just let you take the throne?"

"Ah," I said. "But you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Sure, from where you're standing, the question is 'Who's going to let me?' But from where I'm standing…The question is, Which one of you is going to stop me?"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

**Authors Note: Ok, since you used a guest review thingy, I can't respond to your review, Admiral. So, I'm going to address it here. I'm sorry if I actually have things to do in the real world, and don't just devote my life to writing fan-fiction. I appreciate that you guys read it, I really do. But I have schoolwork, I play way more video games than is healthy, and I'm actually trying to write a book. So I'm sorry if I don't have time to detail everything out. But, in honor of you bringing to light just how many transitions I use, no transitions in this chapter. Just one straight memory, minus some sleep.**

I rolled to the right as a throwing knife sailed over my head, and I sprung up, plowing my head and shoulders into a random torso. I heard a grunt as the victim keeled over, clutching their stomach and gasping for lost breath. A swift kick to the head knocked him out, and I turned to face a hay-maker. I ducked under the arm swinging at me, aiming a quick punch to the side. I blocked a kick with my forearm, and kicked their other knee out from under them. They fell to the floor, and I broke their ankle. Then the apple…pulsed? A gold shock wave rippled over the floor, and as it hit me, my body was racked with pain. I barely recovered in time to grab a wrist sporting a hidden blade. I shoved the wrist down, bringing my elbow back up under their chin and hitting their larynx. They gasped for air as my other elbow slammed into their temple, knocking them out.

My hidden blades slid out just in time to block a sword strike. 'Wait, when did they get swords?' I glanced around, and most of them were now armed with large blades from the Armory. One tried a diagonal slash, but I blocked it with my mom's hidden blade, stabbing the other one into their sword arm's shoulder. They dropped the sword as I felt the blade hit bone, and I spun to attack my next target. I blocked the downward arc with my knife blade, retracting my mom's, and grabbing their wrist. I yanked them towards me, and knocked my elbow into their face. They instinctively let go of the blade, my grip picked up where theirs left off, and I flipped my knife blade so the point was facing up. Now, I was really armed. Some of them started to back up, but another pulse from the apple stunned me, and a slash appeared on my thigh. I felt warm blood slowly pulse out of the wound as I stabbed my hidden blade into their retreating back. It was then that I stopped trying to be non-lethal. Those guys were trying to kill me, and I would have died trying to pull punches like that.

I ducked under a horizontal swipe, plunging my sword through their torso. They collapsed, and I dragged my blade out of their body. I dodged a giant fucking pole axe ('How the hell did I miss that?') and stepped on the staff, snapping the weapon. I leapt forward, knocking my target back, and plunging my blade into their throat. I spun, dragging my blade across the next one's torso, then finishing up by plunging my hidden blade into their throat. I ran at the wall, sprinting up it a few feet before leaping back and stabbing my sword down into an enemy. I blocked the next sword strike, driving my hidden blade into their torso. Then I spun, getting behind them and slicing their Achilles tendons. I did a quick head count as I leapt away from a spear thrust. 11, including Lucio, Rika, and Davis. So. 9 left to kill.

I blocked the next strike, then kicked out their knee. I stabbed my hidden blade into the front of their neck, and sliced the back of their neck with my sword. I knocked aside a stab, then plunged my sword into their torso, then their heart, and then their head. Two came at me at the same time, and I sliced one's cheek with my sword. They staggered back, clutching their face, and I feinted to the right, making the one on my right pause. The one on the left tried to punch me, and I grabbed their inner elbow. I turned their body, and used it to block the sword strike from the right. I let the body drop, and the limp figure dragged the other's sword with it. All that was left to do was grab their face, exposing their neck to a sword stab. I blocked a dagger strike, shoving hard and slicing their torso with my hidden blade. I kicked them in the crotch, and they jumped off the ground and landed on their stomach. I plunged my sword into their upper back. Another two came at me with twin downward arcs, and I blocked the one on the right with my sword. I tripped the one on the left, and he staggered over my foot. I grabbed the clothes of the one on my right, turning his body to block a sword stab, then I shoved the body into the alive one. I stabbed my sword through both of them as the pair landed on the ground.

I turned to face the last one. He was a big bastard, with large muscles and a huge axe. I stopped an axe swing, and tried to counter, but he grabbed my wrist with one hand and hit my leg with the top of his axe. I blocked another swipe, and this time, dragged my sword across his face, stunning him and causing him to drop his weapon as I stepped behind him. I lifted my sword up, and plunged my blade into the back of his throat, stabbing through his spine. He fell to the ground, and I let my sword go with him.

Lucio came at me from my right with a spear. I deflected the stab with my hidden blade, then retracted it to punch him several times in the face. He fell onto his back from the force, and I finished with a kick to the crotch. Then…I turned to Rika…and I don't really know what happened. I've done some research, and I think I entered something called the Theta state. For me, time slowed down. Like to a crawl. I could feel the individual beads of sweat running down my face, and the bloody equivalents on my leg. I could see Rika slowly raise the mace she'd grabbed, and try to bring it down on my head. I sidestepped the strike, grabbing her arm and shoving at her face. She let go of the mace and I threw it across the room. She tried to punch the side of my face, and I shoved my forearm into the gap between her face and her inner forearm. It hurt me to turn her around and wrap my arm around her throat. It hurt even more when she punched me as she passed out. 'What the hell am I doing?' I asked myself. 'I just slaughtered my brotherhood, and now I'm choking out the only person I have left.' She finally went limp in my arms, and I slowly set her down. I took a deep breath, my breathing hitching as I saw the men and women I'd been standing next to a few minutes ago dead at my feet. I finally turned to Davis.

"You see what you've caused?" I asked, gesturing to the carnage. His response was to send out more pulses from the apple. Pain laced through my mind and body as I was attacked with the ancient artifact, but I managed to take a step forward. I took another as the pain reached it's climax. Then I broke out into a sprint, plunging my hidden blade into Davis' stomach, driving him up a foot or two into the air, then slamming him onto his back. He coughed through what sounded like a punctured lung as the Apple rolled out of his hands.

"Congratulations," he said in a mocking tone between ragged breaths. "You did it…But at what cost?"

"This is for my mother," I said, flicking out her hidden blade and stabbing it into his throat. His eyes turned glassy as the life left his body, and I shut his eyelids. "See what all your power has brought you? Rest in Peace."

I left the bodies in the room, except for Rika, who I picked up and carried back to my mother's house. We would stay there until tomorrow, when we would leave for Japan again. I set her down in the guest bed, dragged the blankets over her, and went downstairs. I packed up our stuff, and grabbed anything my mother would have wanted me to have, but wouldn't make it through customs: Her hidden blade, mine, her collection of throwing knives, and her cloak. The last one I just couldn't fit in my bag. I traced the hole in her cloak's sternum with my finger, and gazed at the bloodstain that spread out from the hole. I put it into a box with the rest of the stuff, sealed it, slapped on a bunch of stamps, and arranged for it to be mailed to the Japanese Assassin Bureau. I was fishing through the last of her stuff, when there was a knock at the door. It was a messenger, who handed me a sheet of paper before running off. I glanced down at the paper.

Seth…If you're reading this, then I have died. I write these every week or so, but…I don't know. This one feels different. Now, I know we weren't always on the best of terms, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world. I just wanted you to be ready for what is out there. Now, about my stuff. I've arranged for all of it to be sent to wherever you live nowadays, so…go nuts when you get it. It's your's now. Now that we've actually got the will bit out of the way…I want to talk to you about Rika. It's pretty obvious that you love her, and I don't know how you managed it (kidding) but she loves you too. Do NOT let her go, you understand? Before I send this off, I want to say something. Enjoy the little things. Okay? Enjoy walking down the street, holding hands with Rika. Enjoy playing around in those worlds with your friends. Enjoy everything you can, because you're going to look back on what you thought were the little things, and realize that they were the big things. I love you so much. You were my student, you were my project, and you were the bane of my existence at times. But you've always been my son. Goodbye.

By the end of her letter, I had collapsed into the couch, reading and re-reading her words a thousand times. Tears dripped down my face as I folded the letter and put it into my coat. I'm sorry, mom. I wasn't able to save you. You gave me so much, and all I can give you is tears and peace. I think at some point I fell asleep.

I woke up, starting awake on the couch, an hour before we had to be at the airport. I went into Rika's room, seating myself on the edge of the bed and gently shaking her awake. "Rika? Are you awake?" She groaned and rolled over in the bed.

"Five more minutes."

I gave a small smile. "We have to go. Don't you want to go back to Japan? See your family again?" I think the word family woke her up, and she sat up. "How much do you remember?"

"I remember Davis pulling out something gold…and then I think I passed out." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, I got him. Davis won't be bothering anyone anymore. C'mon," I said, gently nudging her shoulder. "Let's go home."

"You are home," she said in confusion.

"Ok, for one thing, I grew up at the Farm. She bought this place after I became an Assassin and left the farm. Two, no. I have nothing left here. Japan is my home now. With my friends. With you." She leaned over, wrapping her arms around me and resting her chin on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry about your mom."

"Yeah. Yeah, me too." I lowered my arm to her leg and sweeping her out of bed and carrying her down the stairs.

"Put me down!" she shouted, lightly beating on my chest.

"No," I said, matter-of-factly. "I'll NEVER let you go," I said, playfully emphasizing never. I'll never let her go, mom. Never…

Authors Note: And that ends my original arc. Like I said, picking back up with the Caliber arc in the next chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

**Authors Note: I got a review saying someone liked the edited version better, and a PM from someone whose never played a single assassins creed game telling me that Seth should be broadcasting the secret war from the goddamn rooftops. …I cannot please you people. In addition, Guest? Could you explain what you mean by Sequel?**

I'd been back for a day. A single, goddamn day, most of which I slept through due to jet lag, and I'd JUST gotten my internet set up, when Kirito called me. I answered, and his face appeared on my phone.

"I've been e-mailing you for for ten minutes," he said with a slight frown.

"I just got my internet set up in my new place. Plus, only ten minutes?" I said new, but it was just a different building. The room itself was practically identical, but with a better electronic security system. "What's so important?"

"Someone found Excaliber." Kirito had told me about his adventure in Jötunheimr, and I'd even ridden Tonkii once. We'd planned to go after the sword eventually, but New Aincrad and the recent adventure in GGO had taken up our time.

"Why does it concern me that someone else got the sword?"

"That's the thing. No one has gotten it."

I raised an eyebrow. "What, so you're going to try to get it before anyone else?"

"Exactly. And I'm inviting you. Tonkii can carry eight. And you, Leafa, Asuna, Lisbeth, Klein, Silica, and I make 7. I also need someone to take the eighth place."

I considered it. I would have no use for the sword, having barely bothered with swords at all in ALO, and Kirito would probably take the thing for himself. But it would mean Kirito would owe me…and having someone like him in your debt is VERY useful. "Fine. I'll be there. Now…What about Agil?"

"He has his shop to run."

"What about Chrysheight?" I asked, refering to his government friend's Undine avatar.

"He's not very reliable."

"Well, Recon's in Sylph territory, and I'm assuming that's too much of a wait for you…" Suddenly, Suguha appeared in the background of his image.

"What about Sinon?!"

"She's right. Sinon's a great idea."

"All right. I'll call her, and I'll text you the time and place."

"Great. See you then."

Kirito texted me a few minutes later, telling me to be at Liz's shop in a few minutes. I logged into ALO, and spawned into Liz and I's room above her shop. I descended the stairs in time to see Klein take a swig of something. "Are you already on break for New Year's, Klein?" asked Silica.

"Yeah, since yesterday. Even if I wanted to work, at this time of year, nothing comes in. The CEO keeps bragging about how great we are to have a whole week off for New Year's. Hey, Kirito…If we do get Excaliber today, help me get the Spirit Blade Kanedzuchi."

"That dungeon's so freaking hot, though," he complained as I gave my weapons to Liz to sharpen.

"Sure, but Jötunheimr is so freaking cold!" Klein shouted back.

"Then, I know what I want…" said Sinon. "The Light Bow Shekinah."

"You've had your character for two weeks, and you already want a legendary weapon," I said incredulously, walking into the common room at the back of the shop.

"The bow Liz made me is wonderful, but I'd like a bit more range." I could see Liz give her a look from her shop.

"Listen…In this world, bows have more range than spears, but less range than magic," she said, testing the string on Sinon's bow, then moving to mine. "You're the one who's trying to hit the target from a hundred meters away."

"Honestly, I'd like to double that," Sinon said with a grin. I could see Liz give a surprised look that gave way to a smile. Then the door sprung open.

"We're here!" shouted Leafa, and Asuna was behind her, both of them carrying baskets of potions.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" shouted Asuna.

"Welcome back," Silica said.

"I've been waiting!" Klein shouted.

"While we were out shopping," said Yui, sitting on Kirito's head, "I did some information-gathering. It doesn't look like any players, or parties, have made it to that mid-air dungeon, Daddy."

"Then how did they find Excaliber's location?" asked Kirito.

"It seems someone found a different quest than the one we found with Tonkii. And as a reward, an NPC showed Excaliber to them."

"And evidently," said Asuna, in the process of emptying her basket, "it isn't a very peaceful quest, either. It isn't a fetch or escort quest. It was a slaughter-type, in which you try to kill more than a certain number of monsters. And so, everyone in Jötunheimr is trying to kill as many monsters as they can."

"That isn't very peaceful, no," said Kirito.

"But isn't that weird?" asked Klein. "The Holy Sword Excaliber is sealed at the bottom of a mid-air dungeon swarming with Tyrants. So why is an NPC revealing it as a quest reward?"

"That's true," said Silica, patting Peena's head. "If the NPC just took them to the dungeon, I'd understand…"

"Well, we'll know when we get there," said Sinon, holding up a potion.

"Okay!" shouted Liz, holding everyone's weapons in her arms. "All weapons are fully restored!" Everyone grabbed their stuff, and I came last, giving her a peck on the cheek as I grabbed my hidden blade, tomahawk and bow. I strapped the first to the inside of my forearm, placed the second in it's sheath on my right hip, and slung the third over my back, where it settled against it's quiver.

"Our party is still a bunch of muscle-heads, though," said Klein.

"Then raise your magic skills," said Liz sarcastically.

"No way," he said proudly. "A samurai never selects any magic skills. It isn't allowed."

"In RPGs, the samurai has been a 'Warrior plus black magic' class for a while," I said.

"I'd rather snap my katana and quit being a samurai than use magic."

"But earlier, you were using a flame Sword Skill, weren't you? I think that was half-magic," said Silica.

"Seriously?" he shouted.

"Yes, Silica is correct," said Yui from Kirito's shoulder. "In the May update, Sword Skills were introduced into ALO, and high-level skills are also divided by magic classes of earth, water, fire, wind, dark, and holy, in addition to physical…"

"Is that right?" he asked.

"So. Weren't you going to snap your sword, rather than use magic?" I asked, a grin spreading across my face. He instantly recoiled, grasping his sword tightly, as if I might take it, and make him keep his promise.

"Kirito…" he said, curling up to him.

"To perform a Sword Skill, you don't say any incantations. Let's say it doesn't count."

"Oh, fine," said Liz, putting away her mace. I think she DID intend on making him keep his promise. Klein gave a slight whimper of relief, as Kirito began his pep talk.

"Thanks for coming so quickly, everyone. Somehow, I'll find a way to express my gratitude. Let's do this, then!"

"Yeah!" everyone shouted.

(X)

We found the secret tunnel to Jötunheimr, which was the exit route for Kirito and Leafa the first time, and started running down the steps. "How many steps are there?" Liz complained.

"I think it's maybe about the size of an entire dungeon floor in New Aincrad…" Silica said.

"Listen, it takes two hours to reach Jötunheimr by taking the normal route, and this takes five minutes. Don't complain. Give thanks with every step," Kirito said cheekily.

"You're bragging like you're the one who made it," Sinon replied calmly.

"Thanks for pointing that out," Kirito said, grabbing her tail. If you own a house-cat, add words to the normal reaction. She whirled around, lunging at him with her claws. He ducked, and slowed down, dodging the swipes.

"Next time you try that, I'll shove a fire arrow up your nostril!" she shouted.

"You aren't afraid of anything, man," muttered Klein.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and it came out in the middle of a hanging stalactite. We were standing on a hanging platform, and everyone gazed around at the…void? There wasn't much to see. There was a barren, snowy wasteland below us, and other frosted stalactites around us. It was kind of pretty, yeah. But not much to look at. "It's so cold," Klein said, hugging his torso.

"Wow," muttered Sinon, glancing over the edge.

"Kirito," Klein complained. I had to admit, it was a bit chilly, but after Conner tracked a single bear for 2 hours, in the middle of winter, this was nothing. I still drew my hood a little farther forward to guard against the wind nonetheless. Asuna turned around, and started a spell.

"Ous. Sharl. Raise. Wind. Hard. Halca. Storms." An orange hue surrounded us, and cold resistance appeared above my heath bar. The chill instantly disappeared, and Klein relaxed. "Okay. I applied some cold-resistance magic to you." Leafa nodded in thanks, then whistled loudly, the sound reverberating around the land.

"Rwaaaaa…" came the response, softly in the distance. Everyone but Kirito and I crowded around the edge as Tonkii came into view, flying across the ground.

"Tonkii!" shouted Leafa." The giant creature floated up to our height, and though I'd seen it before, I was a bit stunned by it's large body. Klein even took a few steps back. Tonkii was without a doubt the weirdest creature I'd ever seen. He had the trunk of an elephant, with a bony, furry face, and 6 eyes, three on either side of it's face. On the top of it's head where 8 wings, 4 on both sides, and below hovered countless tentacles.

"It's okay," said Kirito. "He may not look it, but he's a herbivore."

"But when we brought him some fish from the surface," said Leafa, "he gulped them in a single bite." It's giant trunk appeared from the ledge, and pressed onto the top of Klein's head.

"He's saying to get on," Kirito said.

"But…" Klein said nervously. "My grandpa's dying words were to never ride American cars or flying elephants."

"American cars aren't THAT…well…yeah, I don't blame him," I said, shrugging off from the wall.

"And at the Dicey Café, you just gave me dried persimmons you said your grandpa made. They were good," he said, shoving him forward and tipping the trunk forward, "so give me some more." Everyone else had already scrambled onto Tonkii, and I climbed up his face behind Liz, using the fur for handholds.

"Okay, there!" she shouted as she finally reached the top. I appeared next to her, and she kind of glared at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Show-off," she muttered. I chuckled, then turned to help Klein hoist himself over the last ledge of the creature's face.

"Thanks, Tonkii," Kirito said, still on the ground. He ran at him, pushing off where a nose would be on a normal face, and leaping up the rest of the way.

"No, he's the showoff," I whispered to Liz, and she nudged my shoulder as she chuckled.

"All right!" Leafa shouted, crouching. "Tonkii, take us to the dungeon entrance!"

"RWAAAA!" came the response as he turned around and soared across the field.

"Hey, what happens if you fall?" asked Liz.

"I'm sure the guy over there," Asuna said, "who tried to climb to Aincrad's next level via the outer pillars and fell, will find out for us someday."

"I think a feline would be better at falling from high places," said Kirito, and Sinon and Silica hurredly shook their heads. Tonkii roared again, then plummeted. I dropped to the top of his head, clinging to the hair as we dropped like a rock. Low screams came from me, Klein and Kirito, and high pitched yells from the girls soared past. Except Leafa. That girl was actually enjoying it! Suddenly, we leveled out, our descent coming to an almost instant halt. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, when Leafa shouted something.

"Brother! Look at that!" she shouted, pointing to a battle. There were a number of players, and one of the four-armed giants attacking a non-winged Tonkii. The giant raised one of it's four swords, and sliced into the creature's back.

"What's going on down there?" asked Asuna. "Did someone tame that humanoid Tyrant?"

"That's impossible!" shouted Silica. "The success rate for taming a Tyrant is 0 percent, even for a Cait Sith with a full boost and special equipment!"

"So they're…What?" asked Klein. "Taking advantage of it? When the four-armed thing is fighting the elephant-jellyfish, they're hitting it too."

"But is controlling a monster's aggro that easy?" asked Sinon. The creature collapsed, and I could see bursts of fire pound into the beast. The other Tonkii exploded into polygons, and the real Tonkii gave another roar, of sadness maybe? But after the battle, instead of attacking the players, the Tyrant simply walked off, and the players followed.

"Why aren't they starting combat with the humanoid Tyrant?" asked Kirito.

"Look over there," Asuna said, pointing to the left. There were more explosions across the field, signifying more battles taking place.

"What? What's going on down there?" asked Klein.

"Is this the new Jötunheimr slaughter quest that Asuna was talking about?" asked Liz. "Like, you work with the humanoid Tyrants to eliminate the bestial ones?" Suddenly, there was a sound behind us, and I spun around. There was a giant glowing figure that stopped glowing to reveal a woman. She was tall, at least twice my height, with a long blue robe, and flowing blonde hair that tapered off into six…tentacle like things.

"She's huge…" muttered Klein.

"I am Urd, Queen of the Lake," the woman said. "You fairies who have formed a bond with my servants…My two younger sisters and I have a request for you. Please save this land from the frost giants."

"Daddy," said Yui, floating to Kirito's shoulder, "that's an NPC. But something's strange. She isn't using the set response routines, like normal NPCs. She's connected to a language-engine module that's near the core program."

"In other words," asked Kirito, "she's been turned into an AI?"

"That's right, Daddy."

"Once," Urd said, "Jötunheimr was like Alfheim." She gestured with her right hand, and an image appeared around us. The bleak landscape was replaced with lush green fields, and the area under the pyramid was replaced with a crystal clear lake. "It enjoyed the blessings of the World Tree, Yggdrasil, and was covered in beautiful water and greenery. We, the hill giants, and our servants, the animals, lived in peace. Below Jötunheimr is the land of frost, Niflheim. The King of the Frost Giants who rules that land, Thrym, snuck into this realm and cast Excaliber, the 'sword which cuts all trees and iron,' into the Urd's lake, at the center of the world." An image of the gleaming golden sword was cast into the lake. "The sword cut the deepest root of the World Tree, and when it did, Jötunheimr was cut off from Yggdrasil's bounties." The lake frosted over, and was lifted up by the rising roots of the World Tree. It settled into the bottom of the world's crust, and formed the rough shape of the pyramid.

"That's Excaliber?" asked Kirito.

"Thrym's frost giants attacked Jötunheimr from Nilfheim, en masse, building many fortresses and castles, and capturing and imprisoning us, the hill giants. They built a castle, Thrymheim," she said, gesturing to the pyramid, "on the massive block of ice that used to be the lake of Urd, and now they rule this land. My two sisters and I escaped to the bottom of a frozen lake, but we lack the power we once had. The frost giants are not satisfied, however, and they are trying to kill all our servants, the animals, that live in this land. If they succeed, our power will vanish, and they will be able to elevate Thrymheim to ALfheim's surface."

"What?" shouted Klein. "If they do that, it will destroy the town of Arun!"

"King Thrym desires to cover ALfheim in snow, and rise to the top of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. He desires the golden apple said to grow there. Thrym and his generals have grown upset at their inability to slay my servants, and have begun to ask for the help of you fairies. He offers Excaliber as a prize, and his goal is to have my servants annihilated. But King Thrym has no intention of giving that sword to anyone. When Excaliver vanishes from Thrymheim, Yggdrasil's bounties will return to this land, and that castle will melt and fall."

"Then it's a lie that Excaliber is the quest reward?" asked Liz. "Can you have a quest like that?"

"Thrym probably plans to bestow the false sword, Caliburn, which looks identical to Excaliber."

"That's cheating!" shouted Leafa. "Is a king allowed to do that?"

"He's a king," I said over my shoulder. "Who's going to stop him?"

"That cheating is Thrym's most potent weapon. But he has made one mistake. He sent most of his giants down from Thrymheim, to assist the fairy warriors. That castle's defenses are weaker than they've ever been."

"I see," said Kirito. Urd raised her hand, and it glowed for a second. That light left her hand, floated above my head, and towards Leafa. It turned into a necklace, with a green gem for a pendant.

"When this stone turns completely dark, it signals that my servants all lie slain and my power gone." It dropped into Leafa's hands as the woman finished the sentence. "Fairies, infiltrate Thrymheim, and draw Excaliber from the keystone dais." A grey 'Quest accepted' pop-up appeared above her head. "I'm counting on you, fairies." The woman disappeared as Tonkii grew near to the pyramid.

"This has turned into a really big deal," said Leafa, looking at the pendant.

"This is a normal quest, right?" Sinon asked Silica. "But the scale seems a little too big for that. Didn't she say something about how if all bestial Tyrants are wiped out, frost giants will invade the surface?"

"She did," said Kirito. "But I don't know if the GMs would do something like that with no update or warning. Normally, you'd have at least a week's notice."

"But we must do it for Tonkii's sake," said Leafa. "Right, Brother?"

"That's right. The reason we came here today was to enter that castle and get Excaliber. If it isn't as heavily defended," he said, opening his menu, and equipping his second sword, "that's exactly what we want."

Klein drew his katana from it's sheath. "Okay! It's our last big quest of the year." He shouted the words, pointing his blade towards the sky. "Let's do this, and earn ourselves a spot on the front page of tomorrow's MMO Tomorrow!" Everyone drew their weapons, and I extended my wrist blade to it's fullest extent, adding it to the group's weapons.

"Yeah!" everyone shouted in unison. Tonkii finished the journey, hovering next to an outcropping in the pyramid.

"Just wait, Tonkii," Leafa said. "We'll take back your country."

"Let's do this," Kirito said from the back of Tonkii's body. Everyone climbed off the beast, and our feet hit the ice. There were giant double doors ahead of us, and I assumed that's where the dungeon started. "Yui, what's wrong?" asked Kirito. The tiny fairy had her head sagged, and her shoulders slightly slouched. She flew off his shoulder and hovered in front of his face.

"Well, this is just a theory…But in one respect, ALfheim Online differs greatly from the other The Seed Project VRMMOs. The Cardinal System operating the game is not a stripped down version. It's a copy of the full-spec version used in the former Sword Art Online."

"Full-spec version?" Kirito asked.

"The original Cardinal System had an auto-generation system for quests. Via its networks, it gathered traditions and legends from all over the world, and used or rearranged terms and story patterns from them to generate infinite quests."

"Then, is this a quest of auto-generated one that Cardinal made?"

"From the way that NPC was acting, it's likely. Which means that, depending on how the story plays out, it could go all the way to the myth's end. According to the data in my archives, this quest and ALO itself are based on Norse mythology, which culminates in a so-called 'final war.' Not only will the frost giants invade from Niflheim or Jötunheimr, but flame giants from an even lower level, Muspelheim, will appear, and burn down the entire World Tree…"

"Ragnarok, the twilight of the gods," said Leafa. "No way. There's no way a game system would destroy its entire map."

Yui shook her head. "An original Cardinal System has the access level necessary to destroy an entire map. Because the original Cardinal System's last task was to destroy the floating castle, Aincrad."

"No…" muttered Leafa.

"My shop…" said Liz softly, and I took her hand, and she gave it a small squeeze.

Pina gave a small squeak, obviously the thing Silica would miss the most.

"I haven't met the person I'm fated for yet," said Klein.

"Even if this Ragnarok occurs, wouldn't it be possible to restore the system to an earlier state via backup?" asked Sinon.

Again, Yui shook her head. "If they use the Cardinal System's auto-backups, they'll only be able to roll back player data, not field data." Everyone gave a small groan as that set in.

"I know!" shouted Klein. He flicked through his inventory, then grasped his head. "No good…" he groaned.

"What?" asked Sinon.

"I was going to call a GM, and see if they knew this was going on. But it's outside of their support hours."

"Well, it's a Sunday morning, and nearly New Year's."

"Brother…There isn't much time," Leafa said, gesturing to the gem, which was close to being dark already.

"Okay," said Kirito. "Let's just hurry to the last level."

(X)

I was on my hands and knee's, gasping for non-existent air as I tried to recover from my most recent hit. Yui floated in front of my face, with a slight smirk on her face. "Well, that strategy didn't work," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, rising to my feet. Kirito swung in, blocking the follow up hit from the giant with his two swords. He'd assigned Yui and I to find the giant's weak-points, her having an AI's mind, and me having years of combat training. I am terrible at overall strategy, but I'm the king at discerning an individual's weakness. And so far…no luck. "Give me their stats again."

She huffed before spouting out information. "The giant's four arms provide enormous strength and attack power, and their sheer size and bulk gives them high defense. But those two things add up to extremely slow speed." My mind flashed back. The British army. Devastating attack power, innumerable men add up to make it difficult to kill, but extremely slow. To move…and to turn…

"They're not flexible," I said with a laugh.

"What?" she asked.

"They can't reach certain spots." I pointed to the shoulder guards on his upper arms, and the stomach guard on his…well…stomach. "His armor makes it difficult to bend his limbs. Kirito! Make it turn around!" His black hair shook in a nod, and he dashed between it's legs, slicing at it's inner thighs as he went. The giant spun around, and I raised my bow, loading several barbed arrows. I fired three at a time, one pounding into his upper spine, one into his center back, and one a little above his waist. His AI took over, and Kirito was able to land a few strikes as the giant pulled the bottom and center arrow out, but his struggling arms couldn't reach his upper back. I grinned, and Yui let out a laugh. "Tell your dad to get it as close to the wall as he can in about," my eyes traced a path up the wall, spying only one tricky handhold, "30 seconds." She nodded, and flew off. I spun around, running up the wall slightly and grabbing a crystal decoration. I counted off the seconds as I leapt up the wall, grabbing a small ledge, and shimmying across. I had to get as high as possible to build up enough speed. I reached up, and pulled myself up, my count hit thirty, and I leapt back.

True to his word, Kirito had maneuvered the beast right under me, and I slammed my tomahawk into his upper back, stabbing my hidden blade in as he tried to buck me off. He reached back, and I slashed at his fingers from a distance, then went back to hacking at his spine. His HP quickly reached zero under my onslaught, and it shattered. I dropped the several meters to the ground, rearranging my shifted hood to the cheers of the team. "Well. We know how to beat them, now. Get up to their upper back, and you're untouchable," I said with a grin, and Kirito motioned for the party to advance.

(X)

I was was creeping around the edge of the room, trying to hide from the giant yellow Minotaur. It sniffed the air as it swung down at Kirito with it's axe, and I froze. Leafa countered, and it's attention was drawn away from me. I kept moving, crouching in the almost non-existent shadows, and I finally got the angle on the black Minotaur. I dashed out, sliding my hidden blade into position, but was knocked back with a swift kick from the yellow one. I latched onto his foot with my hidden blade as my HP took a hit, and barely managed to hang on as he tried to shake me off like gum from his shoe. I tried to time my detach to launch me at the healing one, but I let go too early, and was flung back where I came from. "Damn it," Kirito said. Sinon launched an ice arrow at the healing one, but the yellow ones hand came out and blocked the arrow.

"This is bad," Leafa said. "The yellow one's physical resistance is too high!"

"Yeah," he said, slightly leaning forward.

"Damn it," Klein muttered. "If only we had a mage in our party who could use attack spells…"

"You of all people are saying that," Liz said with a sigh. "Anyway, that would just mean the black one with high-magic resistance would go to the front. This is really tough to deal with." The Minotaur raised his axe, and Yui shouted from the back.

"Shock-wave attack in two seconds!" I was already out of position, but the rest of the team dived left and right to avoid the attack. Asuna healed the team from the rear, and all of our health bars shot up. I back up, drawing my bow, and shooting groups of arrows at a time. Sinon and I had an argument when she discovered I used a bow as well. I was very much for groups of medium-attack strikes, and she was attracted to the sniper equvalent of a bow, shooting precise, high-damage shots. Both methods worked, but you could tell which one I preferred.

"Kirito!" Asuna shouted. "At this rate, I'll run out of MP in 150 seconds!" He crossed his swords, and blocked the next axe.

"Brother!" Leafa yelled. "The medallion's over seventy-percent black. If we die, we won't have time to come back."

"R-Right…" he muttered. "Everyone, there's only one thing we can do now! "You'll be vulnerable to attack, but if you do a magic-type Sword Skill, it might be able to damage the yellow one!" He separated the swords, shoving the monster back. "We'll have to take the chance, and concentrate all our Sword Skills on the yellow one, to defeat it."

"Okay!" shouted Klein. "I've been waiting for you to say that, Kirito." Leafa readied her blade, Liz leveled her mace, Silica gripped her dagger. Sinon loaded an arrow, readying her bow. I loaded five, activating a skill, and the arrow's tips burned.

"Silica, time your bubbles to the countdown," Kirito said. "Two…One…NOW!" he shouted.

"Pina, Bubble Breath!" shouted Silica, and her dragon gave a small roar. It breathed out, and bubbles spewed forward, popping around the beast, and stunning it.

"Go!" shouted Kirito, and everyone but me, Sinon, and Asuna ran forward, activating their skills. I loosed my arrows, and they pounded into the beast, one in it's shoulder's, knees, and the final one impaling itself in it's forehead. Klein went next, driving his fiery Katana down through the monster. Leafa followed with a slice at it's shoulder. Liz lunged forward, driving her mace into it's knee, and Silica attacked it's upper back with her dagger. Sinon loosed her arrow, driving itself into the beast's neck. Kirito dashed ahead, slicing with one of his swords alight. When he was finished, the monster's heath had entered the yellow zone, and they were all frozen.

"Kirito!" shouted Klein, trying to move but unable. Ah, the disadvantages of sword skills. "I'm frozen!"

"Here," Kirito muttered, flowing from his frozen position into another chain of attacks with the sword in his left hand. That…shouldn't have been possible…But he sliced through the beast's torso with an ice skill anyway. The sword stopped mid-way, and he drove it through the thing's back, ice erupting out of it's back. He pulled up, slicing the thing's chest, and ice erupted out of there as well. Then, he chained back to his flaming sword. He spun around, as the rest of the team surged forward. Kirito slashed across the thing's torso multiple times. He was frozen for good this time, as the others passed him. Klein slashed the thing almost in half, Leafa did a two hit chain, Silica slashed with her dagger, and Liz slammed into the thing's head from above. Sinon and I surged forward as the other's froze. Sinon leapt around the turning creature with apparent ease, ending up at the back of it's neck as firing an ice arrow at it's base. I fired a round of non-flaming arrows from a large jump, then dropped my bow mid-air, drawing my tomahawk and slamming it into the top of it's skull. Kirito launched more strikes into it's torso, ending with a final, large explosion…that took it's HP down to a sliver.

You would have missed it, if you'd just glanced, but there it was, and frozen we all were. It raised it's axe…and was stopped by Asuna, who pummeled her rapier into the beast's head and chest. She then dropped down, and finished with a stab at it's belly. The thing exploded in a flash of light as the other one rose from the ground. The black one seemed to pause as it noticed it's ally's absence. "What's wrong?" asked Klein. "Get ready for your beat down."

Without it's brother to protect it, the magic-resistant one didn't last long.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

**Authors Note: Bet you all thought I'd forgotten you, didn't you? Well, I haven't, but I need to say some things. We've almost caught up with the anime, since I will be minimalizing the Mother Rosario arc. It wasn't my favorite to begin with, and it has minimal interactions with Kirito, and I can't find many ways to shoehorn Seth into the story other than at the…well, you'll see. So, I WILL be continuing the story, but my research speed is going to significantly slow, as I will be reading the Light Novels for the source info. Also, Guest? It's imposssible for me to make a sequel if I'm still working on the story. Last note, I swear. Everyone, go check out Seth and Booker, a Bioshock fic I started a while ago. I finally worked out a story, so there will be more of that as this slows.**

The Congratulations! prompt appeared in front of us, and we were all informed of our rewards. Everyone cheered. "We did it!" everyone shouted. We all relaxed, sheathing our weapons as Klein approached Kirito.

"Anyway, what was that?" he asked.

"Do I have to say?" Kirito asked.

"Of course! I've never seen that before."

"It's a non-system skill, a Skill Connect."

"Skill Connect?"

"The last update brought Sword Skills into ALO. But that didn't include unique skills, such as dual-wielding or Holy Sword."

"But you just used both hands."

"That wasn't dual-wielding. I used one-handed Sword Skills, in succession, with each hand. You can only do them without delay three or four times, if you're lucky, though."

"Now I have an incredible sense of déjà vu," said Asuna, holding a hand to her temple. She was probably remembering something, but obviously I couldn't tell what. Kirito walked to her, placing a hand on her upper back.

"You're imagining it. Anyway, we don't have time to waste. Leafa, how much time do we have left?" She checked her pendant.

"At the rate it's going, about an hour."

"I see. Yui, this dungeon has a total of four floors, right?"

"Yes. The third floor is only 70 percent the size of the second. The 4th is basically just a boss room."

"Assuming it takes thirty minutes to beat the last boss, we need to reach the boss room in thirty minutes."

"I guess. Or our only choice is to find the King of the Giants, and kick his butt!" Liz shouted, punching Kirito's arm playfully.

"Okay, once everyone's HP and MP are back to full, we'll clean out the third floor!" shouted Kirito. Everyone nodded and gave a shout of "Yeah!"

(X)

After the small recovery time, we opened the door to the third floor. After clearing it, the boss room was a roomful of centipedes. After tearing through those, the room boss appeared. Picture a giant Centipede, but with the upper half taking the basic shape of a woman. We fought, and eventually wore her last health bar into the deep yellow zone. She twirled her sword above her head before swinging. The shockwave launched Leafa, Kirito, and Klein into the air, and I rushed in to take advantage. I sliced off one of her many legs before darting out of range. Her vision focused on Kirito, before Peena fluttered around her head. Silica rushed in, slicing he dagger along another leg. Kirito swung in, driving a fire skill into it's chest, and the thing exploded.

Peena landed back on Silica's head, and Kirito addressed the party. "Right! All that's left is the last boss!" He charged ahead into the doorway, and we all raced down the crystal corridor that it led to. As we rounded the curve, Kirito and I noticed something strange. There was a cage, built into the wall. Inside was a tattered looking blonde girl, on her knees with her wrists shackled. Klein…Klein freaked out.

His jaw dropped, and he froze midstride. "Please…Let me out," the girl asked. Klein staggered past Kirito and I, and I grabbed the back of his bandanna, holding him back.

"It's a trap," said Kirito.

"Trap," I said.

"That's a trap," came Liz's voice.

"Definitely a trap," said Sinon. I released him, and he dropped forward a bit.

"Y-Yeah, it's a trap, isn't it? Maybe…"

"Well, Yui?" asked Kirito.

"It's an NPC," she said. "It's connected to the language-engine module, just like Urd. But there's one difference. She has an HP gauge."

"If she has HP, that means we might have to fight her," said Kirito.

"But why link up the language-engine to a simple enemy?" I asked.

"It's a trap," said Asuna.

"It's a trap, right?" asked Silica.

"I think it's a trap," said Leafa.

"Of course, it might not be, but we don't have time to waste," said Kirito, placing a hand on Klein's shoulder. "We need to get to Thrym as soon as possible."

"Y-Yeah…" he stuttered. "You're right, yeah." We all started to race past her, and she cried out after us.

"Please…" she said, trying to appeal to us. "Someone…Please!" Klein slowed, and that brought attention to him.

"It's a trap, yeah. I know. But even if it's a trap…Even if I know it's a trap…Even if it's a trap, I can't leave her here!" he shouted. "Even if the quest fails because of that, and Arun is destroyed, saving her here is something I have to do! It's my bushido!" He turned, running back to the cage. He drew his sword, and sliced the ice bars.

"Thank you, fairy swordsman," she said.

"Can you stand?" he asked, offering his hand. "Are you hurt?" I rolled my eyes at him, and everyone else seethed.

"Yes, I'm fine." She tried to get on her feet, but almost immediately fell back down. He gently grabbed her shoulders and helped her onto her hands and knees.

"It's a bit of a ways to the exit," he said. "Can you get there yourself?"

"I cannot simply flee the castle. Not until I retrieve my family's treasure, which Thrym stole. Please take me to Thrym's room."

"This is kind of suspicious," Asuna said.

"Yeah," Kirito muttered.

"Hey, Kirito…" Klein whined.

"Jeez…Fine. Fine," Kirito groaned. "We just have to follow this route to the end. And we don't know with one-hundred percent certainty that it's a trap." His response instantly cheered up Klein, who appeared close to tears.

"Okay!" he said to the girl. "We'll do it! Fate brought us together, so we're in this together. Let's go beat us that jerk Thrym!"

"Thank you, swordsman!" shouted the girl, wrapping Klein in a hug.

"Don't give Yui any weird ideas," Kirito said to no one in particular, as the NPC party request appeared. "Freyja…" muttered Kirtio, reading off the name that appeared in all of our displays.

"My name is Klein," said Klein in the backround.

"A wonderful name," Freyja responded. I noticed that the NPC's MP level was really high. Greater than Asuna's. I wondered if she was a mage.

"From the way the dungeon is laid out," said Kirito, "once we go down those stairs, we'll be at the last boss's room. He'll probably be tougher than the other bosses, but we'll just have to skip the fancy stuff and hit him as hard as we can. For the first part, I want to defend until we know his attack pattern. Yui, Seth, you two know what to do. They'll say when to counter attack. When the boss' HP bar turns yellow, and when it turns red, the attack pattern will change, so be careful. This is the last battle. Let's give it all we've got!"

At the end of the corridor was a staircase. After climbing it, we found the boss door. As it opened, a chilly wind shot out that I felt in spite of the spell. Asuna began casting a spell, and an effect appeared above my health bar, joining the countless others. Freyja began a spell that almost double our health bars. "I've never seen a spell that increases your max HP," shouted Silica.

We walked into the room, which was a long dark hallway, with treasure lining the walls. Liz walked up to a stack. "How many Yuld do you think this is worth?" she asked me.

"Probably more than we make in a year, but it's a more blatant trap than that cage," I shot back. Klein pranced up to a statue, getting almost nose to nose with it, when a voice shot through the hall.

"A fly is buzzing about," came a dark foreboding voice. All attention shot to the end of the hall, still dark. "I can hear it's irritating buzzing. Let me see." The hall shook, knocking the statue into Klein's unamused looking head. The room kept shaking, as the voice spoke again. "I'll crush it before it causes any trouble." A giant foot emerged from the shadows, and my eyes narrowed as we saw our opponent. The guy was massive. Klein, the tallest, didn't even come up to half of his shin, and you had to lean your head all the way back to see his bearded face, blue eyes glowing from out of the shadows. "So Urd has sent the little flies of ALfheim all the way down here? I'll make you an offer, tiny ones. Tell me where she is, and you can have as much gold from this room as you can take."

"A samurai doesn't eat," yelled Klein. "He just laughs! I won't take you up on a cheap offer like that," he said as we all drew our weapons. Yui left Kirito and landed on my shoulder as my hidden blade slid out.

The giant's eyes fell on our newest recruit. "Oh, if it isn't Freyja? If you've left your cage, does that mean you've decided to become my wife?" Surprise made Klein turn his head back.

"Wife?!" he shouted.

"That's correct," said Thrym. "She came here to marry me. But the night before the feast, she was sneaking around my treasure vaults. To punish her, I locked her in a cage of ice."

"Hey, Brother…" said Leafa, whispering to Kirito, "I think I read about this in a book." I knew what she was talking about. Since Assassins don't have time for a traditional education, but it's still a useful tool, they have us take school courses with the Animus. I had the education of a standard college graduate by the time I was 10. "Thrym and Freyja, a stolen treasure…It was, um…I think…" The object slipped my mind as well.

"I refuse to become your wife!" shouted Freyja. "These swordsmen and I shall defeat you, and take back what was stolen!" The giant rubbed his chin as he chuckled.

"Such brave words. One can see why the legends of Freyja's beauty and bravery are known to the ends of the world. But the more noble the flower, the more fun it is to pluck. After I've crushed these flies, I'll give you lots of attention." He laughed.

"You bastard!" Klein shouted, his teeth bared. "I won't let you! I won't let you lay a finger on her!" Another laugh from the giant.

"I hear the sound of buzzing wings. To celebrate all of Jötunheimr becoming mine, I will start by crushing you." The room lit up, and his three health bars appeared.

"He's coming!" shouted Kirito from the front. "Listen carefully to Yui and Seth, and begin the fight by dodging!" The giant took a step forward, and punched at Kirito. Kirito blocked it with crossed swords, which brought his HP down a little. I jumped up and to the back of the group, drawing my bow.

"He's going to hit twice!" shouted Yui, and Klein, Kirito, and Leafa all jumped out of the way of the punch. Kirito's jump path took him into the path of a hit, and he shot back to the ground. Leafa stepped out of the way of a step, and Klein advanced as I pummeled him with fire arrows. One of Sinon's exploded on his head, and Klein sliced at his upper back. A groan erupted from his mouth as Leafa did a four hit chain on his leg. "His ice breath is coming," shouted Yui. The giant jumped up. "Three seconds…Two…" his mouth glowed blue. "One," he reared back. "Zero!" A stream of blue spewed forward as we all dodged out of the way of the flowing ice and snow. Freyja raised her hand, and a purple magic ball appeared. She lowered it, and purple lightning pummeled into the boss.

He thrashed as his first health bar entered the red, and the front group rushed back in. "Okay, lets go!" shouted Kirito. Leafa jumped up, and sliced at his head. Klein and Kirito together sliced an x on his chest. His first bar emptied, and he roared.

"He's changing attack patterns," I shouted. "Get out of his way!"

"This is bad," said Leafa, checking her pendant. "There are only three lights left! Can you use that skill whatsit thing?" she asked Kirito.

"He still has two HP bars," he muttered. "My Skill Connect can't take him out." Another Ice Breath attack started.

"Everyone, defensive positions!" I shouted, and activated the ice buff. Everyone else did too, but it quickly started to fail. I grabbed Yui and threw her in my pocket as I leapt into the air. I shot onto the ceiling as my buff failed, and clung to a decoration like a lifeline. My Eagle Vision could make out Leafa freeze over, and Kirito froze too. I dropped as the ice breath stopped, but jumped over the shockwave that Thrym sent out. The force shattered the ice, and Asuna healed everyone. Yui floated back out of my pocket. "We can't sustain many more attacks like that," I said.

"Don't do that again," she said with a humph.

"Would you rather I left you to freeze? What are we going to do about that Ice Breath?"

"You could use that spell…"

"No. It's not controllable, and wipes out my MP. Everyone, run!" I shouted as Thrym leaned forward. I shot several fire arrows along with Sinon, and they pummeled into Thrym's face.

"Sinon! Seth, give us thirty seconds!" shouted Kirito as he gulped down a potion. Sinon jumped up as he leapt forward, and bounced off with a kick to his nose. She began firing a stream of arrows, but sticks with points weren't going to stop him. Yui gave me a look, and I sighed. I raised both my hands and began the spell. I heard Freyja talk to Kirito as I muttered the incantation.

"Swordsman, you cannot defeat Thrym this way. You have but one hope. My family's treasure, which is hidden somewhere in this room."

"Got it," Kirito responded. "What kind of treasure is it?"

"It's a golden hammer, about this large." I finished the spell, and fire swirled around me. I levitated into the air as the fire formed a tornado around me, matching the height of the giant. It surged forward, pummeling into Thrym, and halved his health bar as my MP ran out. I dropped back onto my feet, and dodged back.

"A h-hammer?" I asked, once I reached the back of the group. Kirito, Leafa and I scoured a stack of treasure, but couldn't see a hammer.

"Brother!" Leafa shouted suddenly. "Use a lightning skill!" He immediately jumped off a piece of gold into the air, and stabbed both his swords into the ground. The gold sparked as his sword did, and a gleam came from the stack. Kirito shot forward, digging in the gold, and revealed a gleaming hammer.

"This is it?" asked Kirito. He tried to lift it, but it seemed to be stuck to the ground.

"My strength factor is higher," I said, nudging him aside. I managed to lift it a hair off the ground, and launched it back at Freyja. "Take it!" It sailed through the air, and she caught it as if it were made of paper. "Mjölnir," I muttered.

"Huh?" asked Kirito.

"God of thunder's hammer. It can only be wielded by him and those the hammer deems worthy," I said as lightning crackled around Freyja.

"Freyja!" shouted Klein, jumping back from a strike. Green smoke swirled around her as she bent over, then began to grow to immense size.

"Freyja?" asked Kirito almost comically. She grew to the giant's size, and turned. Freyja had turned into a bearded man with white eyes and long flowing hair.

"It's a g-guy!" shouted Klein.

"It's not a guy," I said. "It's a god. Thor. The god of thunder." The man roared, then stepped towards Thrym.

"Cowardly giant," Thor said, "did you steal my treasure, Mjölnir? You will suffer for that now!" he shouted, raising the hammer. Thrym breathed into his hand, and a small axe formed there. He blocked the strike from Mjölnir with the axe, locking the weapons. Thor pulled back, punching Thrym in the face to break the lock. Thrym responded with a punch of his own.

"Filthy god…" said Thrym. "You'll pay for tricking me. I'll rip off that bearded face of yours, and send you back to Asgard!" He swung down the axe.

"While Thor has aggro, let's attack," said Sinon.

"Yeah," responded Asuna.

"Everyone, fight as hard as you can!" shouted Kirito. I sheathed my bow and sprung forward, drawing my blades. "Use all your sword skills!"

Klein leapt forward with a shout of "Freyja!" and jumped up, driving a skill into the giant's back. Asuna conjured her rapier and launched a flurry of attacks at the giant's heel. Liz pummeled a lightning skill into his foot. Silica jumped up, bouncing off a wall, then jumped back. She drove a dagger skill all the way down the middle. I jumped off the wall onto his side, then bounced off him then the wall. I landed on his shoulder and blasted him with a fire spear spell before swinging my tomahawk like mad. The giant fell to one knee under the onslaught.

"Now!" shouted Kirito, and everyone surged forward. There was the familiar hum of sword skills being activated as my friends dug into the guy, halving his last HP bar. He thrashed, knocking me off as he fell to his hands and knees.

"Return to the depths of the earth, King of the Giants!" shouted Thor, bringing Mjölnir down on his head. The polygon shattering sound effect echoed throughout the room, but the body stayed.

"Be proud of your victory for now, flies," the giant murmured as ice covered his body. "But if you lower your guard around the gods of Asgard-," He was cut off when the ice shattered, and his body disappeared in a huge explosion.

"I thank you, fairy swordsmen," said Thor after a pause. "Now I have avenged the theft of my treasure. I must reward you," he said, raising the hammer, and it glowed. A small object rose from the hammer, and turned into another Mjölnir, which dropped into Klein's hands. "The lightning hammer, Mjölnir!" he shouted. "Use it in righteous battles. Then, farewell." Thor raised his hammer, and disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Congratulations of your legendary weapon," said Kirito, placing a hand on Klein's shoulder.

"I don't have a single point in hammer skills…" he muttered back. He wiped his brow as a tremor rocked the cavern.

"Is it moving?" asked Sinon.

"No," said Liz. "It's…floating?"

"Brother!" shouted Leafa, pointing to her pendant. There was a single green light left on it. "It looks like the quest is continuing.

"Daddy!" shouted Yui, pointing to the door the rest of us had already noticed. "A staircase down appeared behind the throne!" He nodded, then raced towards it, the rest of us in tow. We stood, side-by-side, in the doorway.

"Let's go," said Kirito, taking the first step down.

(X)

We all crowded around the golden sword at the bottom of the staircase. "Sorry to keep you waiting," said Kirito, reaching forward and gripping the hilt. He struggled, his virtual muscles rippling as he pulled. The ice cracked and glowed as he pulled, and eventually it split. The sword came free with a blinding flash of light. Darkness poured from the ground, and a root from the World Tree demolished the staircase.

"It's falling apart!" shouted Klein as the dungeon started to shake again. Roots pushed against the glass, shattering all but what we stood on.

"Thrymheim is falling apart!" shouted Yui. "Daddy, lets escape!"

"B-But how?" he asked. I felt Liz's hand reach for mine, and I clasped it. The staircase had wrapped around a podium, and now that podium shattered, only held together by a single root.

"Alright," said Klein. "Time for me to show you my Olympic-class high jump!" He raced up the roots, reaching for the connecting one, but it snapped before it could reach us. Now, the only things that held us up were the four lines that came together at the point of the pyramid. And…well…they didn't last long.

"Klein, you dummy!" shouted Silica as we plummeted. We all hit the deck, clutching at the pieces of roots that joined us on our fall.

"Leafa, how much time left?" asked Kirito.

Leafa glanced at her pendant, where that single light was still there. "We made it!" she shouted, embracing him. "I'm so glad!

"So am I," he replied, trying to put away the sword that separated them, but it wouldn't work. Maybe we had to complete the quest before he could have it. Suddenly, my ears exploded as a noise assaulted them.

"What was that?" I shouted, whirling around.

"What was what?" asked Liz, just before it sounded again. I clamped hands over my ears in an attempt to block out the noise.

"There it is again," I said, searching for a source. I stood up, my hands falling away from my ears as I recognized the familiar roar of Tonkii.

"Tonkii!" Leafa shouted. "We're saved!"

"Let's switch to Tonkii," said Klein. He matched out speed, and everyone but Klein and Kirito immediately jumped onto him. Klein ended up missing his jump, but Tonkii caught him with a tentacle. Kirito lowered his head.

"Daddy?" Yui asked.

"Cardinals are such a pain," he replied with a chuckle. He spun, launching the Holy Sword Excaliber into the void, before jumping onto Tonkii. We all watched it fall, before Sinon stepped forward, drawing an arrow.

"About two hundred meters?" she guessed, readying her shot. "Eck. Skete. Aftor. El." She fired, grabbing the rope that trailed after her arrow.

"That's going a little too far," said Kirito. The arrow hit Excaliber right in the middle, and she drew it back in with a single flick of the rope. She caught it as it went into her hands, and struggled to lift it.

"It's heavy," she said. She turned to Kirito, who looked stunned. "You can have it. You don't have to make that face." His face split into a grin. He reached out for the sword with a "Thank you," and she handed it over. We all turned to watch as the pyramid cracked apart.

"That dungeon's going to disappear, just because we completed it once," said Liz.

"It's kind of a waste," said Silica. Then, we all stepped back as water gysered out of the hole that was the center of Thrymheim. It filled the hole, and the roots poured down from the ceiling, diving into the pool.

"Look," said Asuna, "Trees are growing from the roots."

"It's so warm," said Silica.

Tonkii gave a roar, and there were echoing ones from the floor. The jellyfish creatures had come back. Leafa dropped to her knees. "I'm so glad," she said, running a hand through Tonkii's fur. "Aren't you, Tonkii? You've got lots of friends. Over there…and over there. So many of them." There was a glittering light, and Urd appeared in front of us again.

"You've done a wonderful job," she said. "The sword that cuts through all trees and iron, Excaliber, has been removed from its dais, and Jötunheimr has returned to its proper form. This is thanks to all of you. My sisters wish to thank you, as well." She glanced to her right, and another woman appeared.

"My name is Verdandi. Thank you, fairy swordsmen. I never thought I'd see a green Jötunheimr again. It's like a dream."

To her left, a tornado appeared, then parted, revealing another woman. "My name is Skuld. I thank you, warriors." Glowing lights appeared in their hands, which they blew towards us. Our rewards screens came up, showing HUGE gains.

"I offer you that blade," said Urd, pointing to Excaliber. It glowed before disappearing, and Kirito got an alert that he'd obtained it.

"All right," he muttered.

"Thank you, fairies," said the woman in unison. "Let us meet again." Kirito got the completed quest pop-up.

"And we're done," he said tiredly. We all relaxed before Klein jumped up onto Tonkii's head.

"Skuld! Could I have your contact info?" I chuckled as she actually paused, then waved back. Some dust floated from her hand, and he clasped it to his chest.

(X)

At Agil's bar, Kirito, Sugu, and Asada were crowded around his laptop. "Well, Yui?" he asked.

"I can see and hear you, Daddy!" I could make out come from his headphones.

"What is this?" Asada asked.

"I'm turning real-time footage of the Dicey Café into pseudo-3D. Okay," he said addressing Yui. "Try moving around slowly."

"Okay!" she shouted, and the webcam moved around.

"Yui should feel like she's flying around the room," he said.

"I get it," Asada muttered. "In other words, that camera and microphone are acting as terminal sensory devices for her."

"He's studying mecha…mechatro…" Sugu stutterd as I walked up on them from the other side of the bar.

"Mechatronics. Already got my degree in that," I said with a grin. "And if you'd let me tutor you, we could accelerate your strength training," I said to Kirito. He shook it off with a smile. I'd spent the months before GGO raising my strength factor to astronomical proportions. After we'd gotten back to town, Kirito still struggled to hold Excaliber, but when I tried, I swung it around like a feather. He'd instantly told me to add him to my regime, and we'd been training ever since.

"I'm making this as a class project," he responded. "I can't have help."

"Class project or not, this was all for Yui, wasn't it?" I said with a grin.

"I'm going to keep making requests," we could all hear Yui say. "Can I talk to Seth for a second?" Kirito shrugged, handing over the headphones as they went to join the feast. I took his spot, putting them on my head.

"What is it, Yui?" I asked.

"You know how I said the Cardinal System pulls quest ideas from it's User's cultures?"

"Yeah…"

"It made one about you."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It made one about you. The Assassins, the Templars, everything."

"Wait, how do you even-"

"I get alerted about every quest that enters the system, and it's contents. It's a one-time quest, and no one's found it yet, but it goes into depth about everything."

"Tell me where it is. Now. I have to go do it, no one can be allowed to-"

"It's a three man quest."

**Author's Note: DUNDUNDUN! Gonna be doing the Mother Rosario arc, then the one about the quest, then moving to Alacazation arc. Got it? Good.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

**Authors Note: Watching the canon theme song kind of messes with me. Call me a prude, but I really wish that Seth was there. Anyone else want a spin-off of SAO where this is all canon? All wishes aside, do any of you think I should do other stuff while I research? Like side stories. Random stuff from SAO, ALO and Seth and Liz's relationship? I'm guessing the answer is yes, but I'm just checking.**

I was sitting in the corner of Asuna and Kirito's main room, flicking back between several unobservant displays. Ever since Yui told me about the Assassin quest, I'd been decided who to bring with me. I knew I'd bring Liz, since she already knew everything, and the less there was to reveal, the better. I checked my other two options' stats again. Sinon was quicker, but Kirito was stronger. I felt more comfortable around Sinon, but I'd known Kirito for longer. I felt better asking Sinon to accompany me than dragging Kirito away from Asuna and his work, as Sinon, by my estimate, should be at least three classes ahead of where she is. Just stats-wise, Kirito was the obvious choice, but Sinon had an accuracy that was unmatched. I had no idea what she'd be able to pull off. I sighed, flicking the displays away and rubbing my temples as I focused on the conversation around me.

I remembered what it took to get Asuna and Kirito this house back. They'd called Liz and I while we were still in America. We were about to get on the plane, and they told us their plan to get back the log cabin. We hooked up to ALO from the plane's Wi-Fi, and joined them at floor 20. We'd all fought like demons for 10 hours straight, and by the time we were done, Kirito had his house, and Liz and I were a lot richer.

"Hey, if you nap, you won't be able to sleep tonight," said Asuna, poking Silica. The younger had started to nap on the older's shoulder. "There are only three days left of winter break. You need to finish your homework. Before she went home, Sinon said she finished all hers."

Silica stretched as she got off Asuna's shoulder. "I'm tired," she mumbled.

"Maybe the room's too warm," she laughed. "Should I lower the temperature?"

Leafa laughed. "No. I think it's because of that," she said, gesturing to a sleeping Kirito. Peena had fallen asleep in his lap, and Yui was sleeping on top of him.

"Ever since he came back from GGO, it seems he's been working really hard," said Asuna.

"You know?" asked Liz. "That thing we saw in Agil's shop that he's been working on for Yui?"

"Something-onics!" shouted Leafa.

"Mechatronics," Asuna, Liz and I corrected. I got off the floor, scooting Liz closer to Leafa on the couch so I could sit.

"But she looks really comfortable," said Leafa. "It makes me sleepy, too." Liz started to yawn, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Should we head home?" I asked her. She shook her head sleepily, and I watched as she slowly fell asleep to the book she was reading. I glanced around, and Asuna and Silica were out. Leafa noticed as well, as she interrupted their slumber.

"Hey, Asuna! You fell asleep!" she shouted. The pair shook awake and separated. "You, too, Liz?" she asked, and Liz slowly woke up with a grin. Asuna stood, going to a teapot on the boiler.

"Shall I make some tea to wake us up?" she asked.

"Only if we've got sugar," I said, standing. Liz fell off my shoulder, playfully falling back onto the couch.

"I don't know how you drink that sweetened crap," she said.

"I don't know how you don't," I shot back, leaning over the other couch. I looked at the problems Silica was having trouble with. "X equals 37, 94, and 25, in that order," I said, ruffling her hair and jostling the ears that were unique to the Cait Sith.

We all walked out into the cold, Asuna, Liz and I sipping cups of tea, mine with several generous spoonfuls of sugar in it. "The snow stopped!" shouted Silica, on the front lawn.

"Come to think of it," Liz said, lowering her cup, "have either of you heard about Zekken?" she asked Asuna and I.

"Doesn't ring any bells," I said.

"Zekken?" Asuna asked. "Is that a new rare item or something?"

"No, no…It's someone's name. More like a nickname, I guess…They're so strong, someone started calling them 'Zekken,' the absolute blade. An invincible blade. A blade that's better than any other. That's what I think it means, anyway."

"Strong…" Asuna muttered. "So? What are they like?"

"Around New Year's, I started hearing the rumors…A week ago, maybe? I see…So that's why you don't know. You've been back home in Kyoto since then," she said, gesturing to Asuna.

"Don't make me remember that when I'm here," Asuna replied.

"It's tough being a rich girl," Liz teased.

"It really was," said Asuna. "I had to wear a kimono and kneel the whole day, greeting people. At night, I wanted to dive when no one was around, but the separate house I was staying in didn't even have wireless LAN. I brought my Amushpere, and it was a waste. And…" She started to drift off, lost in thought.

"Asuna?" Liz asked, slowly leaning forward. She ended up practically nose to nose with her. "Hey, Asuna? Are you listening?"

"S-Sorry, I was remembering something that wasn't too great."

"What? Did they make you do an arranged marriage meeting in Kyoto?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that!"

"That was a joke," Liz said with a laugh.

"Then if they're strong, does that make them a player-killer?"

"No, they just duel."

"Were they in a tournament?"

"No, they're completely new. But their skill points are high, so they might be a convert from another game. You know that little island north of 24's main town, with the big tree? Everyday, at 3:00, they stand there, and fight anyone who challenges them, one at a time. At first, there was a post on MMO Tomorrow's message board, that they were seeking challengers. People wanted to teach this bratty newcomer to ALO a lesson, so the first day, about thirty or so showed up, but…"

"They beat them all?" asked Asuna.

"Every single one. Their HP didn't fall below seventy percent in any of the duels."

"Must be pretty strong…" murmured Asuna.

"It's kind of unbelievable," said Silica, pushing a freshly made snowman onto the porch railing. "The way they flew, despite being a newcomer. It took me six months before I was able to really fight in the air."

"Did you fight them, Silica?" I asked.

"No way," she responded. "Just by watching, I could tell I had no way to win. Well, Liz and Leafa challenged them yesterday, though." I was surprised. "They're really brave."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked Liz.

"Shut up," she muttered.

"Everything's a learning experience," said Leafa. It started to snow again.

"It's snowing again," said Silica, glancing up at the sky. We went back inside, and Asuna practically conjured up a feast.

"If they keep showing off their strength, doesn't that mean no one will want to fight them anymore?" asked Asuna. I took a small bag of pumpkin seeds from my inventory and placed them on the table, but Liz quickly stole them for herself.

"Not so much," said Silica. "What they're betting is amazing."

"Is it some really rare item?" I asked, slipping a seed out of Liz's hand.

"No. They're betting an Original Sword Skill. And a super strong special-move class!" I raised an eyebrow.

An Original Sword Skill?" Asuna asked. "For what weapon? How many hits?"

"Um…It looked like a general skill for a one-handed sword. And it's an eleven hit combo!"

"Eleven?" Asuna and I asked together.

"Right now, how many hits does the strongest Original Sword Skill do?" Liz asked Leafa.

"It's General Eugene's 'Volcanic Blazer.' Its eight hits, I think. But it seems he's not teaching it to anyone else," she responded.

"That's what he thinks," I said, leaning back from the edge of my seat and sipping my tea. Liz turned to me and cocked her head.

"Oh? Something you want to tell us?"

"I worked up a ten hit skill last week. " I said into my cup. "But that explains why so many people want to fight. The system is damn tricky. Decades of training and it wouldn't let me get past ten. Have they actually used it?" I asked. Though I had worked up quite a name for myself never using sword skills, I'd decided that my own original ones would be acceptable.

"No," said Liz, shaking her head. "I guess they demonstrated it the first day…But since then they haven't used it in a fight. No one's gotten them down enough to where they've needed to use it."

"Does that mean even you weren't able to do it, Leafa?"

"I was doing well until both our HP bars went under sixty percent. But…In the end, I was overpowered with only the default skills."

"Oh," said Asuna. "I forgot to ask the most important thing. What's the race and weapon?"

"An imp. And they use a one-handed straight sword. But it's about as slim as your rapier. They're really fast. My eyes couldn't even follow the movements. I've never seen anything like it. It was a real shock."

"A speed type, huh?" I mused, rubbing my chin and going over my experiences with swift opponents.

"If you can't see them move, I don't know if I have a chance," said Asuna. "What about Kirito? He'd be interested in something like that." Liz and Silica seemed to slouch a little. "Wh-What's wrong?" asked Asuna. Leafa cleared her throat.

"My brother already fought. And when he lost, he looked very cool." I was a little surprised. Kirito and I had been sparring the previous few days, and he dwarfed some of the opponents I'd fought. He'd even forced my brain into a life or death mode more than a few times. The Bleeding Effect, as I've learned, manifests in some strange results in a fight or flight response. In real life, your reaction speed almost triples, we've calculated, and the strength is almost doubled. Since real life strength changes can't be mapped by the game, only my reaction time carries over. It's only in bursts for seconds at a time, but Kirito has said on multiple occasions that I might have been able to duel Heathcliff, even with his system protection.

"How do I miss all this stuff?" I asked.

"Was he fighting seriously?" asked Asuna. Liz crossed her arms.

"It sounds silly to say it," she said, "but in a fight like that, I don't think I'm capable of saying whether he was serious or not. Well, he wasn't using two swords. In that sense, he wasn't going at it for real, but…"

"I don't think Kirito will ever be able to fight for real in a game again," I said, remembering our time with Sugou in the parking lot of the hospital. "He's fought like a devil when his life or the lives of others depends on it. But since GGO, I don't think he's actually been trying. He will only truly fight when the lines between the game and reality are so blurred, he can't tell the difference. So, in that sense, it's for the best that he can't be serious."

"But as near as I could tell," said Leafa, "he wasn't messing around. I don't think he was slacking off at all. But something bothered me a little…Just before the fight ended, the two locked swords, and they didn't move. And it seemed like he was saying something to Zekken. After that, the two of them broke apart, and Brother couldn't completely dodge Zekken's charge."

"What were they talking about?" I asked.

"Well, he won't tell me," Leafa said forcefully.

"Couldn't you just hear it?" I asked, confused.

"They were twenty meters away," said Liz sarcastically.

"So?" I asked.

"Not everyone bothers to level up listening, Seth," said Liz, pulling my hood up from its spot on my back and dragging it down past my eyes. I flipped it back down as the conversation continued.

"It felt like there must be something important."

"Okay…" said Asuna slowly. "Then I'll have to ask Zekken myself."

"Then you'll fight them then?" asked Liz.

"I don't think I can win," Asuna replied. "But they kind of interest me."

"I agree," I said. "Someone that overpowered wouldn't keep coming back just to duel for fun."

"Yeah," said Asuna. "I feel the same way."

"But if you want to know what it is," said Liz, looping an arm around my shoulders and dragging me into a lean towards Asuna, "One of you'll have to fight as well as Kirito did."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, shrugging her arm off and leaning back onto the cushions.

"Will you all come watch?" Asuna asked.

'A future opponent dueling the best rapier users in the game? One that might force them to show off that OSS so I can find a way to counter it? You bet I'll be there," I thought. 'Eugene and Kirito are good sparring partners, but…like they say. You never learn anything from success.'

"Of course," said Silica. "I couldn't miss a fight like that."

"Which character will you use?" asked Liz. "You have that sylph account, right?"

"I'll use the Undine. I'm used to it," said Asuna. "If they're a speed type, I'd rather be able to keep up than focus on DPS. Then, that's it. The small island on floor 24, at 3:00, right?"

"Yeah," replied Leafa.

"So we can meet here at 2:30, right?" asked Asuna. Suddenly, she shot up onto her feet. "Oh, no! It's already 6:00? I'll be late for dinner!"

"Then, let's call it for a day," suggested Leafa.

"It's tough being a rich girl," said Liz. I nudged her with my shoulder, silently saying to knock it off. Asuna gathered the utensils and such.

"He isn't awake after all we've done to him?" asked Leafa. "Brother's amazing."

"That's nothing," said Liz. "Seth's mom said she used to have to poke him with a knife to wake him up."

"It wasn't THAT bad…but it was pretty bad," I said chuckling.

"Hey Liz?" Asuna asked.

"Yeah?"

"You said Zekken was a converted player, right? But if they're that strong, do you think they might be a former SAO player?"

"Yeah, that was the first thing I thought. So when Kirito fought Zekken, I asked him what he thought, but…" Her sentence trailed off as Leafa and Silica shook Kirito's chair to wake him up.

"What did he say?" asked Asuna.

"'There's no way Zekken was a SAO player. Because…If they were in that world, the two-sword skill would've gone to them, not me.'" That definitely shocked me. I could beat Kirito's speed, but only because my mind perceived almost everything as a threat, so I could go into fight or flight mode at the drop of a hat, activating a power locked within my mind as a result of a machine that I relived my ancestor's memories with. This…was going to be tough.

**Author's Note: I have planned out Seth's original skill, and it should be the definition of badass. The thing is brutal, and…well…you'll see.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

**Authors Note: C'mon, no reviews? I expect better of you guys. Also, if you're into Doctor Who, go check out the Fourteen Year Old Twelve. I've got big plans for that story.**

"Maybe everyone will start talking about the Beserk Healer again," said Silica, referring to Asuna's nickname. While healer Undines usually stayed in the rear and healed, Asuna had a habit of launching to the front and going crazy on the foe when the time required. Yui and Kirito began talking from the rear of the room.

"Daddy, you've got something on your face. Your face is full of soot!"

"What?" he asked groggily.

"Okay, see you all tomorrow," said Asuna, and we all responded in turn as she logged out. Liz and I left the cabin to head home.

"So," she said, activating her wings as I flipped up my hood, "a ten hit combo? Care to share?"

"Ok, it's for a dual hidden blade and tomahawk combo. It switches weapons mid-combo, and you don't have an axe or any small weapons skills."

"Fair point." She rose into the air as I did. "What about those other projects you were working on?"

"What? The emulations?" I'd started emulating old games for fun. It wasn't hard, and with the Seed, it was TOO easy. I'd started with Zelda. "I've got Twilight Princess into an Amusphere form. Now I'm working on Skyward Sword. Next, Pokemon."

"What is your obsession with old games?"

"Retro everyday, babe."

"Any Templar rumors lately?"

"No. They've been quiet since GGO. I'm starting to think they're planning something big."

"That's definitely not good."

"No. It's not."

(X)

Liz, Silica, Leafa and I met a ways away from the island and flew over. On the way we spotted Kirito and Asuna and floated down to meet them. "This is what happens if you take your eyes off them for a second," said Liz, placing her hands on her hips. "Sorry to bother you when you're busy, but it's nearly time!"

"I-I know," Asuna stuttered. We all took off and raced over to the island. We walked up to the group just in time to see a Salamander drop from the branches and land on his face.

"I give up! I surrender!" he shouted, and the system noted his loss.

"That's sixty-seven wins!" I heard run through the crowd.

"Can anyone stop her?"

A purple clad, raven haired girl flipped down from the branches, taking a small bow. "Hey, Liz…" asked Asuna.

"What?" Asuna suddenly spun, grabbing Liz's shoulders and shaking her slightly.

"Zekken's a girl!"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you?" Liz stammered.

"No, you didn't," I leaned in and said. Suddenly, Asuna spun, facing Kirito.

"Is the reason you lost…"

"N-No…I didn't go easy on her because she's a girl," he said. "Promise. At least halfway."

"I don't know!" shouted Asuna, crossing her arms and facing Liz and I again.

"Anyone want to go next?" taunted Zekken. Asuna looked at me questioningly, but I waved for her to go first. If Asuna won, she won. If Asuna lost, I'd have more information to go on during my duel. Ruthless move, I know, but hey. If she beat Kirito, I needed all the help I could get.

"Get going," said Liz, nudging her with her elbow.

"Eh…I need to go psyche myself up again."

"After the first hit, you'll be all psyched up," Liz responded. "Now, get going," she said as she shoved Asuna forward into the circle.

Asuna fell into the circle, and the two women stared at each other before Zekken spoke. "Miss, wanna fight?"

"U-Um…Okay, lets'."

Zekken snapped her fingers. "Okay!"

"Um, can we use the standard rules?" asked Asuna.

"Sure. Use all the magic and items you want. I'll just use this, though," she said, placing a hand on the hilt of her blade. Asuna placed a hand on her rapier, and Zekken tilted her head. "What do you prefer? Ground or aerial fights?"

"Is either okay?" Zekken nodded. "Ground fights, then."

"Okay," Zekken responded, folding her wings. "Jumping is okay, but no using your wings." Zekken opened her menu and challenged Asuna. Asuna accepted, and I heard her mutter the opponent's real name. 'Yukki.' Asuna selected HP to Zero mode, and we all settled in to watch the fight as the women drew their blades. The timer beeped, and the duel began.

Asuna launched forward with a charge, but Yukki sidestepped, knocking the blade up. Asuna tried for another stab, but Yukki knocked it up with her blade. The imp struck, and Asuna barely deflected it. She responded with a strike of her own, but Yukki effortlessly knocked it aside. One thing was evident. She knew what she was doing.

Another stab that Yukki ducked under, followed by her getting in close and knocking Asuna back. She swung her blade and it slashed across Asuna's chest. Asuna flipped back onto her feet. I flet Liz's hand grab mine and squeeze tightly as her hand went over her mouth. Asuna breathed heavily as Yukki resumed her stance, smiling widely. Asuna resumed her pose, and Yukki's face turned serious again. They launched forward, faster than most people could follow, meeting in the middle.

Asuna stabbed, and Yukki blocked, but Asuna's rapier slid up her blade, knocking it off to the side and revealing an opening. Asuna refused to take advantage as Yukki rushed back in. They were a flurry of blades, most of the fight being blocked by dirt kicked up by the force of their strikes. Even my hood was knocked down, but I kept it there to see better. Yukki's blade dragged across Asuna's upper thigh, but her rapier glanced Yukki's cheekbone. They locked blades, but Asuna punched Yukki in the stomach, knocking her back. This time, Asuna took advantage. She launched forward with a sword skill I recognized, Quadruple Pain, a flurry of strikes faster than lightning. And…Yukki somehow deflected all of them. They launched together again, Yukki decimating Asuna's health bar with a purple sword skill, but Asuna launching forward with a lunge that kicked up an explosion of dirt. Both combatants were knocked back, but Yukki kept coming. A stab went straight to Asuna's chest and another explosion rocked the area. The smoke cleared…and Asuna was still alive. The sword hovered less than an inch from her chest, and Yukki lowered the blade. Asuna stepped back as Yukki stepped forward, placing a hand on the Undine's shoulder. "That was great," Yukki said. "I pick you, miss!"

"U-Um, what about the duel?" Asuna asked.

"Fighting this much is enough for me," Yukki replied. "Do you want to go all the way?" Asuna shook her head. "I was just looking for someone who seemed just right. And I finally found them!" Yukki sheathed her sword and stuck out her hand. Asuna slowly replaced her blade, and took her hand. Yukki took off, dragging Asuna with her.

"Mommy?" asked Yui.

"Hey, Asuna?" asked Liz.

"Asuna!" Silica and Leafa shouted together. But it didn't make a difference as Asuna and Yukki disappeared into the sky.

"Well that was rude," said Liz, turning away.

"Nah. She was looking for someone. And I think she just found her," I said, turning away and flipping my hood back up.

(X)

I got a call from Kirito on the Day. As it turned out, Asuna told us everything, Yukki belonged to a guild called the Sleeping Knights. They had to disband soon, but wanted to make a lasting mark on ALO before that. So they decided to beat a boss. The game keeps track of all the players who beat the Aincrad bosses on a monument, but only the guild names if there are more than one guild present. They wanted each of their individual names up on that monument, so they wanted only people in the guild present. They invited Asuna in, and went to beat the boss. Kirito called me on the same day, and told me he had a bad feeling, and wanted me to help him go check on them at the boss room. I grabbed Liz's hand, and ran. We met up with Kirito and Klein in the dungeon and hid in a major raid party. I hopped Asuna and company were already at the boss room, and when we got there, they were, blocked by another group of raiders. Kirito speed up, racing along the tunnel walls, and with a thought of 'What the hell,' I followed him. We raced past the group, and landed in front of the bigger one. "Sorry," said Kirito, stabbing his sword into the ground. "This place is off-limits." I drew my tomahawk and slid out my hidden blade.

Liz and Klein joined us, pushing through the crowd. "Hey, Blacky…" I stepped forward, putting up a hand.

"Do me a favor and shut up," I said. Defying my wishes, he kept talking.

"The four of you can't possibly hope to fight this many people at once, can you?" I turned, putting up another hand to Kirito to prevent him from responding. I gave a wink, and mouthed 'Be prepared.'

"I propose a challenge-," I said, but was interrupted again by the leader of the crowd.

"Screw your challenge. Mages, torch them." The Salamander leader clicked his fingers and the mages in back prepared. I raised my hand, keeping it spread out, waiting. As the finished the spell, my hand tightened into a fist, and I hoped Kirito got the message. The spells fired forward. One white arrow, three blue ones, and three purple orbs. They shot towards me…and Kirito leapt past me. He intercepted the white one with a swipe up, exploding it on his blade. He jumped up, slicing up-left, down, then up right, slicing all three arrows in a smooth move. He hit the ground and dashed forward, swinging up to intercept the first orb, then left and right for the other two. He glanced at me.

"Even the fastest magic is slower than an anti-material rifle's bullet." He grinned at me before jumping back in line.

"Perhaps you'll be more inclined to listen now," I said. "Before I was so rudely interrupted, I proposed a challenge. We could fight this out in some huge battle, but some of our friends in the Sleeping Knights might get killed, and that'd rob them of their shot at the boss. And we wouldn't want that now, would we?" I asked sarcastically. "SO! I propose a duel. You send forth your strongest player. We send forth ours. The winner of the duel gets their way. You win, we'll step aside and let you have the shot at the boss. We win, you piss the hell off! All in favor, raise your hands!" I, and everyone on our side raised their hands. Even a few of the opposing crowd raised their hands, scared of the death penalty. Eventually, the Salamander lowered his head.

"We accept your terms."

"You have one minute to send forth your strongest player," I said before turning my back and grouping up with the others. I waved the Sleeping Knights group off, saying "You just prepare for the boss fight. We've got this." The four of us grouped up. "Right, Kirito, go out there and-,"

"Wait," said Liz.

"What?" I asked.

"You go."

"Why? Kirito's got Excaliber. He's got this."

"Oh, come on. We both know they aren't going to keep their part of the bargain. They'll rush the second someone dies. So, you go. Best case scenario, their best player is dead, and ours is untouched for the chaos. Worst case, their best player is severely injured, and ours is fine. So go!" she said, shoving me back towards the crowd. I silently checked with Kirito and he nodded me forward. I shrugged and turned to meet the Salamander. I flicked through my menu, and challenged him. He set it to HP zero mode. It gave me ten seconds to size him up. Good player, judging by his stance and position, but REALLY crappy sword. Sentimental value, perhaps? I got an idea and readied my hidden blade. It hit zero, and the fight began.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**Authors Note: IDRF: I don't blame you for finding this boring. The Mother's Rosario arc was meant more to slap you in the feels, and that's only if you follow Asuna through the whole story.**

The man dashed forward, slamming his sword down at my head. I blocked with a raised hidden blade, and punched the sword. It snapped in half as my hit obliterated it's durability. He glanced with wide eyes at the handle before it shattered. This was going to be fun. "You can get another blade if you want, I don't mind. While you do that, can I ask you a question? What's your strength factor?"

"Six-hundred," he said through gritted teeth, pulling out a slightly better blade. My eyes widened in mock surprise.

"Six-hundred. SIX. HUNDRED." I turned to the would-be clearing group. "You lot want to challenge a boss, and your strongest player only has a strength factor of SIX HUNDRED?" The man charged me while my back was turned and I ducked. He passed over me and I kicked him in the back, launching him forward. "I would like to show you something. It's an Original Sword Skill. I call it," I said as he stumbled back to his feet, "The Mortal Draw." I shot forward, my blades sliding into straight position. They both plunged into his chest, pushing him off his feet and onto his back. The skill continued as I grabbed the front of his cloak and threw him straight up in the air. Now was the wait. This was the tricky part. It was a bitch calculating the average weight of all the ALO players so I could make the timing to where it would hit the most amount of people. But it was worth it. He hit the roof of the cave, shaking the tunnel slightly, and fell back down, meeting my foot in a punt. He launched across the circle the groups had formed around us. 3 hits.

"I'd like to point something out to the rest of you, while your champion recovers." I gestured to my opponent. "Six-hundred?" I pointed to Klein. "One thousand." My arm moved to Asuna. "1800." I walked up to Liz and put an arm around her shoulders. "2400." I pointed to Kirito as I walked back into the circle. "4000." I jabbed my thumb at my chest. "6000." I spun in place back to my opponent, his eyes wide with fear. "And now, the fun part." I activated the 10 hit combo.

My avatar sprung forward, tanking the clumsy hit from him and jabbing my right hidden blade into the side of his head, my left one stabbing into his gut. I sheathed the right one, grabbing the back of his head and spinning as I shoved him to the floor. 2 hits. My arm shot to my tomahawk, flipping it out of my belt and slamming three hits into the base of his skull, each hit decimating his health bar. 5 hits. I grabbed the back of his clothing and launched him into the air again. He hit the top of the cavern. As he fell, I sheathed my tomahawk and stabbed both hidden blades into his chest as he fell back to my level. 7 hits. I shifted to the side, slamming him onto his back and driving both blades in deeper. 9 hits. I grabbed the front of his clothes, launching off the ground about 6 feet. At the same time, I drew my tomahawk, and slammed him back down to the floor, driving my tomahawk deep into his gut as he hit the ground. 10 hits.

His body shattered as his health bar drained, and I slipped my tomahawk back into my belt. I spun back to the crowd, widening my arms and extending my blades. "Who's next?"

(X)

We wiped them out. Klein died due to our lack of a healer, but The Sleeping Knights slipped into the boss room right after my duel. The clearing group was mostly destroyed, the few survivors running back to mommy. The door opened a minute after, revealing The Sleeping Knights were victorious. The group stood in the middle of the boss room, all of them living. Kirito, Liz and I strolled in as the reveled in their victory. Asuna collapsed to the floor. "We did it…" she muttered.

"Asuna!" Yukki shouted, running to her and tackling her kneeling form onto her back. "We did it! We won! We won, Asuna!"

"Yeah, we did it. I'm so tired."

"We did it," one of the others said.

"I'm exhausted…" said another.

"We won too," I said from the back, leaning against the wall, grinning. "If anyone cares." Laughter echoed throughout the empty hall.

(X)

Asuna…I haven't seen Asuna many times in real life. I pass her sometimes when I visit Rika at school, and we say hello and everything, but she never makes many efforts to find me, and vice versa. This time she came to my apartment. It was four days after the victory. I wasn't aware she knew where I lived, but she must have gotten the address from Rika. I was just waking up when the doorbell rang. I glanced through the peephole, a pistol in hand. I was still paranoid. Sue me. When I saw it was Asuna, I stashed the pistol in a cabinet and opened the door. "Um…Hello?" I said, raising an eyebrow. Hers shot sky-high, and a giggle rose in her throat. It was at that point I realized I hadn't put on a shirt yet. "Ah. This is awkward. Come in, I'll throw something on." She stepped inside as I threw on the closest piece of fabric that would fit over my head.

"Seth, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What? Is this about the Mortal Draw? 'Cause I told Silica I'm not sharing."

"No, it's not that. I want to find Yukki."

"Any particular reason?" She explained to me what happened. At certain points, Yukki referred to Asuna as 'Sis.' Asuna didn't know why, and when Asuna asked about it, Yukki started crying and logged out. Asuna hadn't seen her since, neither had any of The Sleeping Knights. "So you want me to find a girl because she started crying?"

She gave me an angry look. "I want to find her because she's my friend." I raised my hands in surrender.

"But why are you coming to me? Surely you have other people to turn to for stuff like this."

"Rika's told me about what you can do. You've discovered things most people don't know exist. If anyone can find her just from a username, it's you." I sighed, going over to my computer and scooting up my chair.

"I'll need any other weird behaviors of hers. Any other nicknames she called you, any hints to her regional home, whatever you can think of."

(X)

By…diverting a few old bugs the Assassins used to get into the Templar databases, I was able to get into the ALO log-in servers. From there, I was able to track Yukki's IP address back to a real address. "You know, if I have to hack into the game itself to find this girl, maybe she doesn't want to be found," I said, spinning around in my chair, and holding the written address in my hand.

"Sigurd told me that to," she said, talking about one of the Sleeping Knight's members, another Undine healer. "She said Yukki left for my sake."

"But you're still going after her?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"Fair point," I said, holding the address out. She reached out to take it, but I suddenly jerked it back towards me.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm coming too."

"Why?"

I thought for a moment. "Curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back. If you don't want the address…" I said, letting it trail off.

"No! Fine. You can come." I grinned, holding the address back out.

"We can take my bike, if you like. Probably be faster than walking. It's a few miles away. I've heard about this place," I said, throwing on my cloak and opening the door for Asuna as we walked out. "They're working on something called the Medicuboid."

"What's that?"

"A bio-mechanical engineer's wet dream."

(X)

We walked inside, my head down low, and my hood covering my face. I don't like heavily surveillanced areas, and hospitals are no different. Asuna walked up to the desk. "Umm…" she said to the receptionist.

"You're here to see someone?" the lady asked.

"Yes," Asuna replied. "But I don't know her name."

"We're here to see a girl around 15. She's in the Medicuboid," I said.

"I'm sorry," said the receptionist next to the one we were talking to. "But what are your names?"

"Ah, I'm Yuuki Asuna."

"Seth Corsi." The lady seemed to shrug off my name, but her eyes widened at Asuna's.

"You two sit on that bench, and wait for a minute," she said, walking off.

"O-Okay," stammered Asuna. As we waited, Asuna tried to get me to tell her about the Medicuboid. "What is it?" she asked.

"To be honest? I can't explain it."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." The only reason I knew was because the head doctor working on it donated blood at a Templar blood drive last year. We stole the blood from them (don't hate on me, they were going to use it for the animus as well), identified useful memories from donors, and I went through medical school for the fourth time. But I knew nothing about any Yuuki, so he must have given blood before she was entered into the program. "All I know is, if she's in there, it explains a lot. It also means trouble." I glanced to the side out of instinct and saw the doctor I'd lived as for about 12 years of his life. I never liked that haircut of his. "There's our guy." Asuna stood as the man got closer.

"Hello, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"N-Not at all," she replied with a bow.

"So you're Yukki Asuna, yes?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And who are you?" he asked the still-sitting me. I stood.

"Seth Corsi."

"My name is Kurahashi. I'm Konno Yukki's doctor."

"Konno?" asked Asada, rolling the name around in her mouth. The man took us up a few floors to a waiting room of some kind.

"I'm amazed you found this place," the doctor said. I grinned. A hospital's IP address? The only way it'd be easier to trace was if the numbers were GPS coordinates. "Yuuki said that someone named Asuna might come to see her."

"Yuuki did?"

"But she said she didn't tell you about the hospital. So I told her there was no way you'd find this place, but…When the front desk called me, I was surprised."

"Um…Did Yuuki tell you about me?" asked Asuna.

"Sure. All she does is talk about you. But whenever she was done talking about you, she would cry. She never complains about her situation. She said she wanted to see you, but she couldn't."

"After we said goodbye in the virtual world, Yuuki and her friends told me the same thing. Why? Why can't I see her?" asked Asuna. The doctor put down the cup of tea he'd been sipping.

"I suppose I should begin by telling you about the Medicuboid."

"Okay," she replied.

"The Medicuboid is something that's currently being developed by the national government. It's the code name for the world's first medical full-dive system."

"Medical full-dive system?" she asked.

"That's right. For people with hearing or vision problems, that machine is truly a blessing. Because the Amushphere transmits sound and images directly to the brain. It isn't only the signal transmission, either."

"The Amusphere blocks real sensations. Great for people in surgery or with crippling pain," I said. "But the Amusphere isn't powerful enough for anything more."

"Half right. The Amusphere…No, even the NerveGear can't cancel the pain from surgery or serious illness." I had a few bullet scars that disagreed. Some minor tingling here and there, and I was good as new in a few hours. "So the Medicuboid enhances the electromagnetic output, and by fitting it with a specialized bed, we can cover everything from the brain to the entire spinal column. If this is put to use, it will change medicine forever. And with the Medicuboid's specs, you could combine it with a camera to allow AR-image processing in real time."

"That sounds like a dream machine," said Asuna.

"Yes. It truly is a dream machine. But it doesn't treat the underlying illness. The place where it's hoped it will have the most impact is terminal care." I lowered my head and waited for Asuna to grasp the situation at hand.

"Terminal care?"

"It means people who are dying, Asuna," I said.

"Dying…" she muttered, shock clear in her voice.

"Yuuki told me that if you wanted it, I was to tell you everything about her. But you may wish later that I hadn't."

"No," she said. "Continue. Please. That's why I came here!" The man stood, nodding solemnly. He took us down an empty clean hallway"Yuuki," he said as he walked, "was born in May 2011. It was a difficult birth, and her mother was given a C-section. At the time, she was given blood. But unfortunately, that blood was infected with a virus."

"AIDS?" I asked. He turned and looked at me in surprise.

"How did you know that?"

"Educated guess."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

**Authors Note: …I've decided the lemon's going back up. Not much else to say. Please review.**

"The virus was detected in September, during a post-transfusion test her mother took. But at that point, her entire family had already…" He stopped talking as we approached a door. 'Special Measurement Devices Lab 1,' said the sign above the door. The doctor scanned his card, and the door slid into the wall. "This is it," he said, stepping in. The two of us followed him in. "The room beyond this glass is an air-controlled clean room, so you can't go in," he said, stepping up to a sheet of glass on the wall. It was currently opaque. "Please understand," he said, typing a command into a small keypad. The glass turned clear, revealing a room. There was a girl on a bed, with three computer readouts next ot her. On her head was a device that obscured most of her face, covering her eyes, cheeks and hair, with the actual machine taking up a good portion of space above her. Wires ran into her arms and shoulders. Asuna gasped and dropped her bag in shock, running up to the glass and pressing her hands against it.

"Yuuki…" she muttered.

"AIDS isn't as terrifying an illness as people think," the doctor said. "With early detection, you can delay the onset of symptoms for a long time." I noticed a camera built into the machine shift it's zoom. I cocked my head in confusion, then realized. Yuuki was watching us. "But the virus she was infected with was a drug-resistant variant. Yuuki's mother despaired for her children's future, and was prepared to kill herself at one point. But she decided to continue to fight the illness instead."

"To keep fighting…" Asuna muttered. Something seemed off about what the doctor had just said, and I reviewed the words in my head as he continued.

"Yes. Soon after birth, Yuuki was given multi-drug therapy. It's hard for a young child to take lots of drugs at regular intervals. There are side effects, as well. And she also suffered due to prejudice, I'm told. But Yuuki and her family believed she'd get better, and she did her best. But in fourth grade, her immune system suddenly collapsed. In other words, the AIDs symptoms began, and she was hospitalized here. Still, she was always smiling."

"Doctor? Why did she decide to use the Medicuboid?" Asuna asked.

"Just as the public was panicking about the NerveGear incident, the first Medicuboid prototype was completed. But even if we'd wanted to do trials, no one knew what the long-term effects of electromagnetic pulses, several times stronger than those of the NerveGear, would be. They couldn't find a patient who was willing to take the risk. When I heard about it, I made Yuuki and her parents a proposal. If she agreed to try the device, I could have her put in a clean room that would greatly reduce her risk of infection. Sometimes, I still don't know if it was for the best. Both Yuuki and her parents spent a lot of time worrying about it. But her longing for the unknown of a virtual world was probably the deciding factor. She agreed to be a test subject, and entered this room. Ever since, she's lived in the Medicuboid."

"You mean…" asked Asuna.

"I mean exactly that. She almost never returns to the real world. Right now, she's using the Medicuboid's sensation-canceler to alleviate the pain."

"In other words, she's diving twenty-four hours a day?" asked Asuna. "And she's been doing that…"

"For three years," said the doctor.

Asuna let her hands slip off the glass and lowered her head. Asuna stared at her hand, balling it into a fist. "Thank you," she said. "For letting us see Yuuki. She's safe in here, right?"

"Even in a clean room, we can't remove the bacteria and viruses from her body."

"Then…"

"Yuuki's condition is terminal. You can probably understand why she tried to disappear." Asuna's eyes teared up, and she whirled back to the glass.

"No…That can't…" I finally understood what was wrong with the doctor's sentence.

"Children's."

"Hmm?" he asked.

"You said Children's. You don't say children's for one person, you say child's. Yuuki…" I remembered Yuuki's term for Asuna. "Yuuki has a sister."

"Yes…That's right. She was a twin." 'Oh, hell. 'Was.'' "Her sister's name was Aiko. Yuuki was a bright and cheerful child, and she would always smile and watch her. Come to think of it, she might have been a bit like you," he said, pointing to Asuna, "somehow."

"Might have been?"

"Two years ago, her parents passed away. And her sister one year ago."

"Yuuki…" muttered Asuna, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Yuuki…" she repeated.

"Don't cry, Asuna!" came a voice from inside the room. I remembered the camera. I'd been about to ask how she and the doctor communicated. The screen on the Medicuboid said 'talking…'.

"Yuuki! Yuuki!" shouted Asuna. "Are you there?"

"Yeah. It's through a lens, but I can see you, Asuna." I tapped her shoulder and pointed at the camera, then sat back to watch. "Wow. You really do look just the same as on the other side. Thanks for coming."

"Yuuki, I…I…"

"Doctor, please let them use the room next door."

"That's fine," said the doctor. "The Amusphere I always use to talk to her is in the next room. There should be an extra one in the cabinet."

"Right!" said Asuna. I simply nodded to him.

"ALO is on the apps start up list," said Yuuki. Asuna hit a button, and the door slid open. "When you log in, go to the first place we met." Asuna sprinted to the table in the middle of the room, slipping on the Amusphere and logging in. I found the one in the cabinet, laid myself on the floor, and went in.

I caught up to Asuna as she was flying towards the islands, the look on her face saying "Shut up and fly faster." We landed calmly, Asuna whirling around, looking. "Yuuki!" she shouted. Then she spotted her. She had her back to us, facing the ocean. "Yuuki…" she muttered. She ran up to hug Yuuki, but when Yuuki started to speak, Asuna faltered.

"I don't know why…But I had a feeling you'd find me in the real world. But since I hadn't told you anything, I knew it was impossible. But you came. It's pretty rare for my feelings to come true. I was happy…Really." Asuna walked up, reaching out to touch her shoulder, then relented, pulling her in for a tight hug. Yuuki paused before hugging her back. "You smell just like my sister when she held me. You smell like the sun."

"Aiko? She played VRMMO's too?" she asked, not letting go.

"Yeah. She was the first leader of the Sleeping Knights. She was way stronger than me. She met Siune and the others in a virtual hospice called Selene Garden. At first, there were nine of us. But my sister, Clovis, and Merida…Three of them are gone now." Asuna pulled away, holding the girl at arm's length. "So we decided that when it was the next person's time, we'd disband the guild. Asuna, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the truth. The reason the Sleeping Knights are disbanding in the spring isn't because we'll be too busy to play the game. It's because two of our members have been told they have, at most, three months to live. So we wanted to have one last memory from this wonderful world. We wanted to leave proof that we were here on that huge monument. We wanted to have an incredible adventure to brag about to my sister and the rest. But it wasn't going well. We decided to find one person who could help us. But we caused you trouble, and I'm sure this is unpleasant for you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Asuna. There's still time for you to forget us." Asuna shook her head.

"I can't do that. I'm really happy I met you all, and I was able to help you. I still wish I could be part of the Sleeping Knights."

"Yeah. I'm really happy I was able to come to this world and meet you…What you just said is enough. It's enough for me. I'm satisfied with everything."

"There are still…There are still a lot of things you haven't done, right? I'm sure there are all kinds of places in ALfheim you haven't visited yet. And if you include the other virtual worlds, it's infinite. So don't tell me you're satisfied."

"Over the past three years, we had a lot of different adventures, in a lot of different worlds. I want the last page to be the adventure I had with you."

"But there are things you want to do, places you want to see, right?"

"That's right. I want to go to school."

"S-School?"

"I'm sorry, I know it's impossible! I'm really glad you feel that way. But I really am satisfied."

"You might be able to go…You might be able to go to school!" shouted Asuna. As Yuuki sputtered over that, I wrote down a burner email address.

"I want you to send me a bucket list. At least twenty things, alright? I don't care how impossible you think they are, I want you to send them to me. And then, when I've made you do them, you can tell me you're satisfied. All right?" She grinned and nodded, accepting the virtual paper. I left the world to let them have the rest of their moment.

(X)

I pulled out of programming a skydive just in time to get on my bike and ride for the SAO school. I'd been going crazy all night, programming everything on Yuuki's bucket list. First, I'd had to build a better building engine, and that had taken a few hours. Now that I could program levels from inside the world itself, the list was going smoothly. I'd gotten up to number 8, which was skydiving, after drive a race-car, and before bungee jumping. It's very hard to simulate a low level vacuum effect, but I managed it. I slipped on my helmet, grinning like a maniac and pelted for the SAO Survivor school.

(X)

"What if you prioritized stability, then added a boost to the school's Wi-Fi, reducing lag?" I asked, pointing to the modification areas.

"Is that possible?" Kirito asked. "How can you just boost the Wi-Fi?" I rolled my eyes, taking out my phone and checking one of my file sharing websites.

"Yuuki, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, loud and clear."

"Alright, I'm going to divert some of the hospital Wi-Fi through the Medicuboid, to the school to boost the signal. It's going to ask for your permission, just hit yes when it pops up."

"Got it." I sent off a small virus that would destroy itself when I gave the other command, and a second later came the cry, "I can see you!"

"Told you."

Kirito looked at me before shaking his head. "You are insane, you know that?"

"Insane, well connected, and don't you forget it." I checked the time at the top of my phone. "Oh, crap. Gotta go! Rika's gonna kill me if I'm late."

(X)

Evidently, Yuuki had some sort of dream to have tea with the queen of England. It was the last thing on the list, and I had everything set up…except the actual tea. I had NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE TEA. So, it was off to the resident cook, Asuna's house in ALO. I logged in, and swooped over to the log cabin. I heard voices as I approached the door. One was Asuna's. One wasn't anyone I recognized. I opened the door anyway. "Hey, Asuna, I need to borrow your tea recipe…" The sentence trailed off as the girl was staring daggers at me. "What did I do?" I noticed the Sylph standing next to her. It was Asuna's Sylph, her other account. "Someone we know?" I asked.

She shook her head slightly before gesturing at the woman. "Seth, this is my mother." Oh. Ohhhhhhh.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to leave, or…?"

"Actually, you can help me prove a point. She's trying to get me to leave the SAO school. She thinks it has a bad influence on me."

"It does. She's way behind on her studies, and she needs to go to a much better school if she ever has any hope of catching up," said the Sylph.

"Well, no offense, but you know what I think had a bad influence on her?" I asked. The woman raised an eyebrow. "Being trapped in a death game for two years. Instead of complaining about her and trying to pretend it's just an inconvenience, help your daughter. She's trying to be around people who went through similar situations and can sympathize, not some emotionless classmates and a strict professor. If it's really her studies you're worried about, I'm more than qualified to be a tutor." Asuna nodded her approval of my sentences, then turned back to her mother.

"It's possible to live in such a way that other people's happiness makes you happy, too. I want to live in a way that makes all the people around me happy. I want to live in a way that lets me support those around me when they get tired. And for that, I want to keep doing my best with my studies and other things at the school I love!" There was a pause, and tears began to roll down her mother's cheeks. "Mom?" she asked.

The woman felt her tears, then rubbed her cheeks. "What's this?" she asked. "I'm not crying…"

"Emotion overclock software. If you feel angry, your face turns red, if you're sad, you cry. You can't hide anything in this world," I said. She looked back at me, and shook her head before staring back through the window.

"What an inconvenient world." Her stream of tears turned to a flood, and I stepped out of the room as Asuna wrapped an arm around her mother. Asuna texted me the tea recipe a few hours later, along with a thank you.

(X)

Yuuki Konno died on March 27, 2026, in ALO, in Asuna's arms and surrounded by the thousands of friends she had made. I'd made sure she did everything I'd programmed for her, and she'd thanked me a thousand times over. Rika chose to attend the funeral. I chose to go to her grave a few days later. I approached the stone, surrounded by three others. Her family. I sat down in the grass above her final resting place. Then, I began to speak. I'm not sure exactly why, or who I thought I was talking to…but it went something like this.

"How? You suffered more than any person should ever wish upon their worst enemy, and yet you persisted. You lost your family. You lost your body. And you lost your life, all to a merciless disease. And yet…you died happy. I'm glad that you were able to find peace in life. May whatever death brings hold peace and happiness for you also. Rest in peace, Yuuki Konno. And thank you."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

**Authors Note: Sorry I took this down before. But seriously, review! With stuff like this, I only decide to keep it or not based on how you guys react! I took this down the first time because the only review said…Well, to be honest, the grammar was so bad, I can't tell what it said. So if it was a compliment, I apologize.**

I staggered into my room, dropping onto my bed with a small poof. I was exhausted. Liz had me grinding a set of mobs all day in order to obtain some rare metal, then we had to go fight a mini-boss to get some tool! I'm glad she was the one to work with people. Some of these idiots I'd just tell to piss off and make their own goddamn weapon. I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling as I manipulated my menu. Liz was downstairs, making some sword with the fruits of our labor. I unequipped my cloak and changed my pants to more comfortable ones. I shut my eyes and began to nod off…when a weight dropped onto my pelvis.

I wasn't alarmed or anything. I leveled up my magic skill for use in combat, but there were several anti-theft spells in place that prevented anyone but me or Liz from entering our bedroom. I cracked an eyelid. She was leaning over me, her nose mere inches from mine. I was currently meeting her mischievous eyes with my tired ones. "Yes?" I asked. She grinned.

"What do you think of my new…attire?" I glanced down, but my eyes quickly darted back up.

"Liz, you're naked."

"That's not true. I'm wearing panties."

"Oh, that makes a whole lot of difference. Look, we've talked about this. If the Templars figure out we're close enough to do this, they will go after you. You will be fucked. Your family will be fucked. All of our friends will be fucked because they are desperate to hurt any of us."

"And I've been listening, and from what you tell me, you boys have got those nasty Templars running scared. So what's to be afraid of?"

"They come back. They always do. Conner threw them out on their asses, and they were back less than a year after his death. Hell, the only place they don't have complete control over is Asia, and that's-"

"A very good thing," she interrupted. "C'mon, Kirito and Asuna did it."

I raised an eyebrow a fraction of an inch in surprise. "They did? Good for them. They didn't have crazy Templars hunting them. I'm just trying to protect you." In that instant, the glint in her eyes disappeared, and she became emotional and serious at the same time.

"I don't want your protection. I don't want you to keep me safe. I. Want. You."

I stared deep into those eyes I'd come to love. They were filled with…Lust. And yet…Love. Hunger. Need. As I looked, I felt a wanting. A need that surpassed lust, love, or just wanting to fuck her. Believe me, that last one WAS there. I'm not a rock. And protecting her? It left that in the dust.

"You asked for it," I said, rising up a few inches and bringing our lips together. I read something that said you never know how you'll act in bed until you're there. To be honest, I expected this to be a battle of dominance between two people who knew the other would never give. Boy, was I wrong.

The first kiss was soft, barely skin brushing against skin. She pushed forward, in an effort to deepen the kiss. One of my arms wrapped around her waist, and the other went to the shoulders, pulling her as close as possible. I could feel every contour, every inch of her skin on top of me. She broke the connection, her eyes lighting up with joy. I wrapped an ankle around hers, pulling and flipping us. Now, I was on top. I leaned down, joining our lips again, before pulling back and admiring my work.

She was lying back on the bed, a grin still ghosting on her lips, lungs breathing heavily. 'So Ms. Badass Blacksmith is submissive in bed…Innnnnnteresting,' I thought as I leaned back down. Her hands found their way to the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up. I raised my arms and allowed her to complete the act. I leaned back in, and her arms snaked under my arms as I planted a kiss at the hollow of her throat, where the slope of her neck met her collarbone.

The effect was instantaneous. She bucked underneath me, and her fingers dug in to my back slightly. I could feel the heat emanating from her body, and I smirked at her from my position, a few inches from her chin. She was starting to pant, squirming underneath me as her face turned a vibrant red. She started to rub her thighs together as I could tell the heat became unbearable. "S…Seth, please…" she moaned. I looked down at her, innocently raising an eyebrow. She really was the opposite of herself in bed.

"Please what?" I asked, a slight smirk forming on my face.

"Please…I don't…I can't oooohh," she moaned as I cupped an unseen breast, rubbing it lightly with my thumb. "Seth, oh!"

I moved my other hand to the other breast, running my hand over it slowly. I stopped, however, when I felt something metallic. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked. She hurriedly nodded, refusing to meet my eyes. "How did you even manage to pierce your nipple in a game?" I asked.

"R-Rouge programmer," she stuttered out. "Piercings are all over the…ALO black market. You can use them for extra ring slots, so they're very…ohhhSethplease…" she moaned as I grasped the pierced breast with one hand. I flexed two fingers, lightly tugging on the ring. "Oh please oh please Sethpleasesethplease…" It became a chant for her, and a game for me. Just how long could I tease her like this, before she came or I gave in? Eventually, I decided to give her a break, leaning back.

She was panting rapidly now, her chest heaving in great sighs as she gasped for virtual air, and her hands entwined in the sheets. Her eyes were wide, and fixed on me. I was toying with her, like a game of cat and mouse, and all she could do was what I wanted. And she knew it. Then my gaze shifted lower. Her breasts were milky white, deprived of a habitual gamer's limited sunlight by clothes. She shifted uncomfortably under my gaze, and I grinned as the game made her nipples stiffen. Then my eyes were drawn to a twinkle of gold.

The ring was a small one, but the game must have fitted the ring to the piercing size. It was barely a centimeter in diameter, and had a small blue gem fitted on it. "I knew you didn't earn those twenty agility points," I said, slowly leaning forward. My eyes flicked up to catch hers, and she was waiting. Her hands were intertwined in the sheets again, and her breathing reached a new level of rapidness. I closed my canines slowly around the ring, before pulling back slightly.

She moaned loudly, her hands releasing the sheets and twinning in my hair. "Oh shit! Ok, easy," she gasped out. I grinned back up before releasing the ring and leaning in to suckle on the tip, flicking the ring with my tongue.

She raised her head off the bed, pulling me closer to her chest. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit Seth pleeeeeeeeeeeeee…" Her moans faded away into a gasp for air, shuddering as her pleasure reached new heights. I remembered from some mastologist friend of one of the doctor's I'd lived as that 1 in 20 women could reach orgasm from breast stimulation alone. Seems Liz was one of those five percent. But that was something for another day. I bit down lightly on the ring before pulling back. She whimpered as I withdrew. "Please don't do this to me, Seth. I'm so close…" I smirked again.

"Better times are coming. Promise." She blinked at me as I went to remove her now-soaked panties. She gasped as I moved to the meeting point of her thighs, planting a quick kiss through the fabric before lightly pulling the underwear off from the straps on her outer thighs. I leaned back to examine her again.

She was, in a word…perfect. Her arms crossed her torso, hugging herself and pushing up the breasts I'd been toying with a minute ago, and her lithe legs met in…well…you know.

I leaned in again, but not at the mound where she wanted me to head. I leaned close to her face, running my hands up her arms as our lips met again. I finally decided what to do as I broke the connection, but the look in her eyes made me want to ravage her then and there. 'No, Corsi. Mission time. Carrie did this once on a client, and…damn.' I planted featherlight kisses all over her face. I started with the forehead, then worked my way down the side of her face. I even did a few on her ears, which she squirmed at. I filed the information away for later use, then moved onto her lips. I had to drag myself away from those to continue down her body. I spent a while at her neck, then moved over her shoulders, kissing my way down her both arms, then back up again. I spared a quick tug at the ring on my way to the right arm, which she writhed at. "Ple…Please…" she whimpered out, trying to draw my head to her chest. I dodged, grabbing her wrists and pinning them at her sides, stopping her half-hearted attempts to free herself.

I finished the kissing of her right arm, then moved to her right breast, which I hadn't been formally introduced to yet. She whimpered out something as I got closer to the center, then I took the unloved nipple between my teeth. I paused before biting down. Not hard, but enough to cause some discomfort if you weren't into that.

Or in Liz's case, extreme pleasure. She rocked beneath me, not even able to moan as she writhed side to side. I instantly released it, and she moaned loudly in protest. "You…Bastard…" she gasped. I chuckled, continuing my trail of kisses.

I made my way down her tight stomach, planting a kiss on both of her hips, before pausing above her pelvic region. I could see that she was soaking onto the bedsheets at this point, nearly out of her mind from the pleasurable torture. I thought about making my way down her legs, just to prolong this, but quickly decided that she'd had enough. I spread her legs wide, holding her hips in place before leaning in for a soft kiss above the pink mound. She jerked under me, but I kept her in place with my hands. I gave her another kiss, lower, and she jerked again, sitting up slightly, and wound her hands in my hair again. Always a good sign. The earlier chanting resumed. "Seth please seth please seeeetthh…" she muttered, as I gladly fulfilled her wish, pressing forward to her core.

I flicked my tounge lightly around her outer lips, before pressing it into the waiting hole. She groaned loudly, pushing me unintentionally with her hips before pulling me back in. I licked away as she bucked and moaned, the only thing keeping her from writhing was my hands on her hips.

Eventually, she started to jerk erratically, signalling her coming climax. I pulled back, pressing in a finger before she could protest. I used that thumb to lightly rub back the hood, revealing her enlarging clit. I grinned as her moans turned to whimpers, and I pressed another finger in, sliding them in and out. She started breathing faster and faster, the rate of my pumping increasing the closer she came to her orgasm. Just as she was coming, I leaned in, sucking her clit into my mouth.

She couldn't even moan when she came. Her eyes rolled back into her head, her back arched, her toes curled into the sheets, she nearly tore my hair out with one hand, and almost depleted the durability of the sheets by pulling with the other hand. I'm pretty sure she stopped breathing for at least a minute. I continued moving my fingers, and began flicking her clit with my tongue, extending the climax as far as possible.

Finally, her muscles relaxed, collapsing into a heap as she quickly panted in and out. I crawled up from the foot of the bed, licking my fingers clean. She tasted like…green apples, but a bit sweeter? I don't know. I looked down, her on her back, and me propped on my elbow. She sat up slightly to make our lips meet, and when she fell back down, she was panting again.

"If…you can just wait a minute…I can…return the favor," she managed to say between breaths. I shook my head before kissing her forehead. I laid myself out on the bed, relaxing into the sheets.

"Sleep," I said.

"That's…That's not fair," she murmured, curling up to me. I chuckled softly, kissing the top of her head.

"Sleep."

"Where…did you even learn that?" she asked, nodding off.

"Blood mix-up. I was supposed to learn Japanese cop procedures during a high-speed chase, but instead I spent a few months as a lesbian prostitute before anyone knew anything was wrong."

"Hehe. You were a prostitute. Maybe I should…should try this Animus of yours…" She nodded off as I finally relaxed. "I love you," she whispered as she fell asleep.

"I love you too."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

**Authors Note: And now, the quest. I've built this up in my head A LOT, so I hope it works out. I also recently got a PS Vita, and Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is downloading as I type this. So…I might get distracted over the next few days. Also, while this is a dungeon quest, it's less about the bosses and more about the stories told in-between, so please don't bitch about the skimpiness of the fights. One more thing, to all the people who go back to school tomorrow, including me, I'm sorry. You have my condolences, my sympathy, and my pity.**

Liz and I went to Kirito's house early in the morning. We were going to pick up Yui, then meet Sinon near the house. "So you haven't told me," said Liz. "What's in this quest of yours?"

"Other than secret information involving the Assassins and Templars? I've no idea."

"And I'm assuming we're only doing the quest because of that information?"

"Yeah. Once we finish it, the quest is gone, and no one else can do it." We landed in front of the log cabin, and I knocked on the door as I folded my wings. "Kirito? We're here for Yui!" He opened the door with Yui yawning on his shoulder, stretching her arms as she "woke up."

"You kids play nice on your play-date, you hear?" he said jokingly, as she flew onto my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," I said as we took off again.

"Alright, so the quest is on a small floating platform on floor 19," said Yui.

"Great. Now we just have to find Sinon. So, you never told me, Yui, what's in this quest?"

"Well…It's a chain of 20 mini-bosses, each followed by what I can only categorize as a cutscene."

"That's new. Don't think I've ever seen a cutscene in ALO before," said Liz.

"What are the cutscenes of?" I asked. She shut her eyes, concentrating.

"It's fuzzy, but…They detail…Seth's life."

"Why my life?"

"You're the only Assassin in the game. You're all the Cardinal System has to go on. The first ten are about the Assassins…the rest are variables, changed by whoever enters the gate."

"Well that's a strange sign," I said, spotting the familiar head of blue hair. "There's Sinon," I said, dropping the several hundred feet to the ground, spreading my wings just in time to stop the fall damage. She gave me a strange look as the dust settled. "What?"

"You're insane."

"So I've been told. We're on our way to the teleport gate. Thanks for doing this, by the way." She shook off the thanks with a shake of her head.

"I've been curious about these groups you spoke off. If this is the only way to gain that information, so be it." The two of us took off, floating back up to where Liz remained. She punched my arm.

"What did I do?"

"I hate it when you do that."

"But it's fun!"

(X)

We stood in front of a small white arch, with pale white doors. It was secured on a floating platform, about 300 feet from the floor of New Aincrad's floor 19. We were also surrounded by a chain of floating platforms, each with their own arch, put there to disguise the gate. Even the Cardinal System understood the direness of the information contained in this quest. I stepped forward, pushing open the doors. They opened, revealing the other side of the platform, but then a white light filled the arch. "Step in that," said Yui, "and you'll be teleported to the dungeon." I turned back to my two partners.

"You guys ready?" Liz grinned and Sinon nodded. "Let's do this." I stepped in.

I was abruptly moved to a lit room. We were standing in a bright room, behind us a sheer wall. On the other end, there was a large, blue…stone…ball? It was placed in front of two massive doors, and began to roll the second we recognized where we were. It pummeled towards us, and I could tell it was a high defense-high speed boss…Low attack, low strength. I launched forward, bracing myself. It plowed into me, and I pushed with all my might. It slowly stopped rolling against me, then started to lift. "Holy shit, this is heavy! Sinon! Stream of arrows once it uncurls! Yui, help Liz find it's weak point." Yui nodded then swooped off to the side.

"Uncurls?" asked Sinon.

"Give it a minute!" I shouted. I finally got it all the way off the ground, then turned towards the nearest wall. I chucked it as hard as I could, and it uncurled into a large blue beast with the stone armor on the outside of its body after it hit the wall. "Everything you've got!" I shouted, leaping forward and dashing at it's face with my blades. I heard arrows pummel into it's side and Liz got off a few sword skills before it rolled up into it's shell again. "I can't lift it like that again," I gasped as it raced to the other side of the room.

"Just try to divert it," shouted Yui. "Shove it to the side as it hits you!" It rolled around, turning in a circle before barreling towards us again. I followed Yui's instructions, placing myself in it's path and putting all my weight on my left foot. As it hit me, I pushed off to the right, and it shot off, plowing into the wall. "It's underbelly!" shouted Yui. "Hit it!" We all rushed forward, me diving into the center. I carved up whatever I could hit as it curled up again. I was squished, but my HP stayed full, so I took advantage, digging my blades into it's skin. It roared, then released me by exploding into polygons. I stood up, stretching my back out, and sighing.

"And that was just the beginning," I said with a laugh. Liz grinned, and Sinon shook her head with a small smile. I pushed against the doors, and they opened into a black void. We all stepped through, and it lit up into a lush green field. There appeared to be several children with small firearms, accompanied by several adults.

"What is this?" asked Liz. I glanced at the kids, and saw my face among the crowd. I recognized from the anxious look on my mom's face that this was my first time with a gun…which meant…

"This is the day I got shot for the first time," I said.

"You got shot?" asked Sinon.

"Wait, the first time?" asked Liz. "Just how many times have you been shot?"

"Uh…three times. Once here, at the Farm, and once in America. This one was an accident, and the other was a genuine attempt on my life."

"And the last one?" Liz asked tentatively.

"I don't want to talk about it." I watched as we all lined up our shots and the line rippled as the bullets flew. They passed right through us, as we were standing in the middle of the firing range, and pounded into the targets. As we lowered the weapons and stepped towards our paper targets, I saw the kid on the far right get a mischievous look on his face. James Rowe. He was always an asshole, but this is where he took it too far. He sighted my lower back with his rifle. As his dad moved to stop him, he pulled the trigger. I remembered the feeling of being hit from behind as the smaller me was tackled to the ground by an invisible force. I heard Liz gasp, Yui let out a small yelp, and Sinon tensed. I saw a spot of red spread out from the bullet hole, a few centimeters to the left of my spinal column. My mother rushed over as the scene faded to black. I felt three pairs of eyes on me. "What?"

"Can we see the scar?" asked Liz. I rolled my eyes and unequipped my cloak. I raised the back of my shirt, revealing a small pockmark opposite my abdomen.

"It was a 22 caliber, so it didn't hurt that much. The real danger was how close it was to my spine and major arteries. It barely went an inch in, so no organ damage. I passed out after the shot and woke up after they'd removed the bullet. The real question is, out of all my early events with the Assassins, why show that?"

"The first time you sustained an injury?" suggested Sinon. "Realizing how your life was at stake?"

I shrugged, reequipped my cloak, and we moved onto the next boss room.

The next boss was two lizard men, that went down easily with some well-placed arrows from Sinon, some strong overhead swings from Liz, and some sneaking around and stabbing from me. The doors on the other end opened to another void, lighting up to reveal a small dark room, only lit by several computer screens, and light eminating from a device in the center of the room. A slightly older me, his first pimple appearing on his lower cheek, walked in, accompanied by a 20-something year old woman. "You ready for your first Animus dive, Seth?" she asked.

"Yeah," the younger me said, lying down onto the device. She pricked my finger, and I dived.

A small Native American boy appeared, running along a mountain cliff. Conner. We were on a slightly hovering platform, following the child as he trained without actually moving. "Well, Liz, Sinon, meet Conner. I owe him for all my skills."

"How does this Animus work?" she asked.

"Well, you know how birds know to go south for the winter? It's not animal instinct, it's genetic memory. When it get's cold, somewhere deep in it's DNA, the bird remembers that it's ancestor went south for the winter as well. The Animus can go deeper, pulling out entire lives from your DNA. Conner's like my billion greats grandfather, on my mother's side. But it doesn't have to be your ancestor. As long as you've got their blood, you can live anyone's lives. We use this to our advantage for training and education. I've gotten…like…12 doctorates?"

"Since I doubt that this quest will come out and tell us, will you just explain the Assassins and Templars?"

"Fine. We both want peace. Our approaches to peace conflict, however. The Templars see themselves as the Janitors of humanity. They sweep up the entire floor, or world, hoping to catch some dirt, or people who would create conflict. Then they dump the entire pile into the trash bin, where it can never infect the floor again. They would micromanage the entire earth, so that no one would differ from their thinking or will. We, however, are the surgeons. We go into the patient, cut out the stuff that doesn't work, and leave the rest untouched."

"That's…wow."

"Yeah." I turned to the next door as Conner blocking a sword strike faded to black. Yui floated in front of me, blocking my path.

"I have news."

"Well?"

"The Cardinal system has identified what the final 10 cutscenes will be. They will showcase the worst and best moments from all of your lives. Sometimes it will be cutscenes like these, and other times you will interact with the scene."

"How…does it even know that?"

"Most people don't realize that when they log-in to ALO, they are basically submitting their mind to the Cardinal System. It can see everything you've ever done, your personality, and how you'll react to certain stimuli. It can sense how important this information is, and thus is doing everything it can to stop you from going further. Breaking down your resolve by forcing you to relive your worst moments is how it's decided to do that. But it can't be all torture, the system won't allow that. So it includes the best moments as well." That..was not a good thing.

"Yui, how protected is this system?"

"It has several 4 kilobyte codes in place."

"4 kb?" said Liz. "I've got memos on my phone that are bigger than that."

"For a code, 4kb is incredible. It'd take longer than the length of the universe to hack a single one," responded Yui.

"But if the Templars got their hands on that technology…they'd be able to control everyone after a single dive," I said.

"Maybe you didn't hear me," said Yui. "Longer than the LENGTH OF THE UNIVERSE." I cleared the thought from my head.

"Yeah, you're right. To the next boss, then?"

(X)

After dispatching of the tentacle creature that was the third boss, we were treated to my first mission. There was a scene of me, kneeling on the edge of roof, the beginnings of a major storm brewing around me. "What is this?" asked Sinon.

"Yui, get in my pocket." Once she was tucked away where I figured she couldn't hear me, I explained. "My first kill. A Templar named Daniel Lee. If I remember correctly…ah, there he is," I said, pointing down the street. "I wanted this done fast, so I planned a drop and run."

"What's a-," Sinon was interrupted when the young me dropped from the roof. Our vision followed him onto the target, forcing him to the ground with the momentum, then stabbing the hidden blade into this throat. I planted some documents that made it look like a gang killing, with some corruption thrown in for good measure, before disappearing into a subway station. Sinon tensed as the vision left us with the dead body of Daniel Lee.

"That," I said, turning for the door, "is a drop and run."

"How can you just shake this off?" asked Sinon. "We are watching people die!" I whirled around.

"Because I know what they would do if left unchecked! They would turn every human being on this planet into a slave to their whim, and I would die a thousand times to prevent that! So forgive me if I can 'shrug off' the deaths of those who would shrug off yours." With that, I stormed into the next boss room, not even waiting for a reply.

I tore through the fourth boss without mercy, and turned to enter the next room, when Sinon stopped me. "I…" she began, lowering her head.

"Yes?" I asked, trying to keep my voice free of the anger I felt.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't called for. You've been through more than enough…And I'm sorry that I accused you of not caring." She kept her eyes riveted to the floor, bracing herself for my response.

"You shouldn't be. I'm sorry I snapped. To be honest, I surprise myself when it comes to the Templars. I only do these things because I know what the world would be like if I didn't. And I hope that one day I never have to again." She met my eyes, nodding slowly after examining me for something. I offered a handshake. "Are we cool?" She smiled slightly, and took my hand.

"We're cool." She turned around and entered the next room by herself, and Liz walked up next to me, bumping me with her shoulder.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she said, grinning and moving past me. I shook my head and followed. In the next room, I was sitting at a bus stop, my head down, tapping my foot slightly. I glanced at a newspaper box, noting the date, and turned back to the scene before us.

"Welcome to the day I got shot, for the second time."

"You said this was an attempt on your life?" asked Sinon. I glanced down the street.

"Yeah. Keep an eye on…" I waited for a certain ruffian to appear through the crowded street, "him," I said, pointing. "I had him pegged as nervous the second he appeared. Hyperawareness. It's a pain sometimes, but it comes with the training, and in this case, it saved my life. I was already nervous about something going down at the Bureau, so I was keeping an eye on everything at once. This guy…He was more nervous than I was, and my reputation was on the line. I kept an eye on him, and sure enough…" The thug walked up behind me, and the younger me heard the _shink_ of a knife sliding out of a leather sheath. He spun, knocking the knife away with the metal blade under his sleeve, then pushing and getting on top of the man. The man reached into his coat, and the younger me activated his blade and plunged it into a part slightly left of his heart. The man finished his act and pulled a .380 caliber handgun on me. He fired into my right shoulder, missing my collarbone by centimeters, and the bullet exited through my back.

Both parties relaxed, but the younger me's job wasn't over yet. Whenever there is a crime involving the Assassins and Templars, both go to great lengths to cover it up. The Assassins outright kill people, so cops are a no-no, even though we do it for a good cause. And while the Templars have all the resources in the world, no amount of money is going to keep a cop from exposing a plot to control the world. So, we sort of have an agreement. We work together to cover up our crimes. They are the legal side, lawyers, bribes, all that good stuff. We're the not so legal, sneaking, assassinating false witnesses, and destroying evidence. We work together on just this, and we don't go to the cops with all the stuff we have on each other. The younger me sent a distress signal to one of the doctors we had on the payroll, then activated a jammer, stopping any 911 calls from taking place. He finally collapsed onto the pavement, his blood pouring onto the ground. The scene faded to black as people crowded around the bodies.

"You want to see that scar too?" I asked. I could hear Sinon mumble an affirmative, and unequipped my coat and shirt. I outlined a pockmark similar to the one on my back, then turned and pointed to a dime-size scar on the back of my shoulder. I threw on my clothes. "It's a dangerous life I live. But someone's gotta do it," I said, quoting some movie I couldn't remember the name of and the other three had never heard of. Well, that Sinon and Liz had never heard of. I still don't know the extent of Yui's databases.

"Why?" asked Liz.

"I thought I went over this," I said, puzzled. "If we don't-,"

"Not the Assassins. They can have all the killing Christmasses they want, but why do you have to be a part of it?" The question puzzled me. I'd been doing this since birth. It was all I knew. But, I guess, the real reason was…

"Because no one else will. C'mon. We've still got 16 more bosses to beat."

(X)

The giant canine beast charged at me, and I dodged forward, shooting under it's jaws, then pushing off the ground, shooting up into it's neck and slicing at whatever I could hit. I swung my tomahawk into the side of it's neck, pulling myself onto the top of it's head. I drew my bow, and activated another OSS. Death Revolver. My character drew 6 arrows, lining them up on top of each other, lighting them on fire before shooting them into the top of the creature's head. It exploded into polygons, and I dropped back to my feet. Sinon punched my arm as she passed me. "You're going to have to lend that last one to me," she said, pushing open the door. But she froze when she saw what was inside.

"What?" I asked, a grin slightly peeking through.

"Yeah, it can't be that-," said Liz, peeking through the crack. But her voice caught in her throat when she saw the contents of the room. The grin died on my face.

"Yui, get back in my pocket."

"I want to see," she said, trying to fly past me. I caught her out of the air.

"I think I know what is behind that door, and no. No you don't." I pushed her back in my pocket and sealed it. "Is it…?" I asked, pushing the door open fully. I lowered my head. It was.

Me, about a month before SAO, was bound to a table by my wrists and ankles, shirtless. The younger me writhed, jerking my wrists and trying to worm them out of the binds that held them. "Let me go!" he shouted. Then the door burst open, and he fell still and silent. It was time like those I HATED being an Assassin.

I'd been ordered to allow myself to be captured. Considering the shittiness of the guys they sent after me, that itself had been a task. Not to mention blocking their blows, but pretending to be nearly mortally wounded. And now, Reverse Interrogation. By paying attention to what questions your interrogator asks, you can find out what they're worried about, and, if you have an untrained questioner, exactly what they know. Luckily for me, the Templars employ so many people, they rarely have time to train them.

"Who told you?!" shouted the man who burst in the room.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I shouted, curling up as much as the restraints would allow.

"Who told you we had NerveGear?" shouted the man, plucking a scalpel from the table. The younger me's mind was working overdrive. They didn't know he was an Assassin, so he would play it off as just some curious kid, while making a note to find out about NerveGear.

"They're sold out all over the world! I just really wanted one, and one of my friends told me you had some! I was just gonna sneak in and take one! That's all!" The man flipped the scalpel, pointing the blade down, and barely snaking the blade over the skin of my bicep.

"Why are you lying?" he asked, softly but cruelly. The younger me squirmed under the blade.

"I'm not! Get that fucking thing away from me!" he shouted, pushing against the table with his ankles, trying to rise up on the table. That was, until the blade stabbed quickly into, and through, his forearm. Reverse Interrogation. The things I do for these people. He screamed, and aborted the mission. The other arm contracted, and the bindings snapped. He reached over, punching the man in the face, before tearing the blade out of his arm and cutting the other bonds. He plunged the small blade into the man's jugular before scooping up his gear from the corner of the room. He picked up a chair from a small stack lying against the wall, threw it through the window, and climbed out. The scene faded to black.

I ran a hand over my left forearm, feeling the slight bump that was all that remained of that scar. "I told you I heard rumors. I didn't say how. And now you know. Boss 6, coming up." I stepped forward, before Liz put her hand on my shoulder and tugged, spinning me around before tackling me in a hug. "Whoa…I…Um…" She shook slightly, and I could feel the beginnings of tears drip onto my shirt. "Hey, don't cry…I'm fine, see?" She just shook even more. I moved my eyes to Sinon over Liz's shoulder, and raised an eyebrow. 'What's happening?' I mouthed. She shook her head.

"Idiot…" Liz muttered.

"Huh?" I asked.

"You idiot," she said, sniffling and pulling back. "Only you would risk your arm to get some information."

"Well, in my defense, I was ordered to do that."

"Risk your arm?"

"Allow myself to be captured. I never would have ended up on that table if I wasn't told to. And we never would have learned about SAO." I raised my hand to her chin, lightly guiding her eyes to mine. "And I never would have met you." She smiled slightly. "I did it once, I'd do it again." She grinned and tackled me again.

"I'm glad you got stabbed in the arm."

"Well, when you put it that way…"

(X)

I jumped back, activating a spell. This slime boss just split in two when hit, and if the halves touched, they formed together again! It was infuriating. So, of course, I decided to blow it up!

"Jun!" I finished the spell, and the five pieces the slime was currently all simultaneously detonated. All but the largest piece were completely eliminated, but the largest one was split into two. I threw one up in the air, and Sinon caught it with an arrow. It pinned it to the ceiling, before detonating. Liz smashed the other one with her mace, and it exploded. We were congratulated. "Well, this one's probably from SAO. Just saying," I said, pushing open the door. I was right.

It was about a month before I met Liz, and I was tailing this girl. She had relatively low stats, and moved like a beginner, despite the death game going on for more than a year and a half. If she WAS new, she was certaintly talented, tearing through mobs like butter. Her techniques reaked of outside skill, and I was waiting to see if there was anything that screamed, 'I'm an Assassin, sent in to aid THE ONLY OTHER ONE IN THIS ENTIRE DAMN FLOATING CASTLE!'

The girl nodded, sheathing her sword, before turning to head back to town. She was met, however, with opposition. 7 people emerged from the bushes, the lead one being a woman with red hair, holding a pole spear. "Alright, sweetie," the woman said. "Just hand over the items you collected today, and my boys won't have to rough you up." I flipped up my hood before charging out from my hiding spot. I jumped on one of the rear guys, flipping him into the ground as I got some forward momentum. I skidded on the ground, drawing my tomahawk as I landed in front of the girl I'd been following.

"I'll make you a deal. Leave now, and I won't have to hurt you," I said. The woman laughed, flipping her hair back.

"Is that a fact?" she asked. "Well, I know all about the 'White Cloaked Warrior,'" she said, using the completely stupid name the in-game news had given me. "The one who can disappear while in plain view? Too scared to fight, are we?" She clicked her fingers, and one of the group rushed forward, swinging his scimitar at my head. I ducked, spun, then swung my tomahawk through his head. It didn't kill him, but my paralysis ring made him drop to the ground, twitching slightly. Man, I miss that ring.

"Titan's Hand. Finally got out of the Army Prison, did we? I thought the punishment for red guilds was permanent imprisonment," I spat out.

"We escaped," the woman said, seemingly unfazed.

"Ah. Well, then they'll be happy to see you again," I said, drawing out a corridor crystal and activating it. It opened to in front of the Black Castle on floor one. I picked up the guy on the ground, and threw him into it. "You've got thirty seconds to walk through it, or I throw you in, too." The scene faded to black.

"I ended up having to throw two more of them in, but after that, they went quietly," I said, drinking a mana potion.

"That reminds me," said Liz. "How did you stay green?"

"Hmm?"

"You killed people, yet your cursor stayed green. How?"

"Ah. Well, in the beginning, everyone went north, towards the maze tower. I went south, and was the first to stumble upon this town called Tolbana. I did a favor for the NPC mayor, and, in payment, he granted me political immunity. No matter what I did, my cursor stayed green."

"Must have been one hell of a favor," she muttered.

"I spent ten hours cutting down apple trees with my shitty excuse for a tomahawk," I said. "You bet it was one hell of a favor." We moved into the next boss room.

(X)

The Minotaur swung it's massive axe, and Liz met it with a sword skill. I ran up the side of it, slicing up the wood as I went, then jumping onto it's head. The beast bucked at me, trying to dislodge and gore me with it's horns at the same time. I dodged, flipping and slicing off the tip of one horn as I landed. I drove my axe deep into it's skull, and activated a trick Liz installed in the Hidden Blade last week. I drove the blade deep into it's head, and in the body, small blades poked out the side, triggering bleeding effects and transforming it into a barbed weapon. I detached it from it's wrist brace, and the knife stuck in it's head as I grabbed the axe and jumped down. Sinon planted an explosive arrow in the center of it's forehead, and my own take on the Sword Skill Starburst Stream finished it off. My hidden blade dropped down, and I put it back in it's place on my wrist.

"What's next?" asked Sinon.

"I don't know. We could still be in SAO, or maybe…it's moved on." I pushed open the door. It was me, standing in front of the Japanese Bureau for the first time. I'd just arrived in Japan, and I'd dropped in on my way to Kirito's house. I was still anxious about the whole Rika-in-a-coma situation, so the younger me was tapping his foot as the Master Assassin read a list of my…everything. Skills, strengths, weaknesses, feats. Basically a run-down of me.

"Well, Corsi," the Master said, "your feats are impressive. We would like to assign you to instant field duty, but in your present condition, that might not be the wisest of decisions. We will deliberate on where to put you in the meantime. If I may ask, why did you ask to be transferred to Japan? If it's because of the advantage we have over the Templars, and you're expecting an easy job, you're in for a hard truth. If anything, we have to work doubly hard to keep them from rising up."

"No, sir. That's not it."

"Then why, Assassin?"

"I met someone in that world. SAO. She was capable, so I trained her. She became my recruit…and I fell in love. I have come to meet her in this world, as well."

"Well, that…is an interesting reason. I would have expected you to bring her before us, if she is your recruit."

"Well…That's the thing. As I'm sure you're aware of, when SAO was cleared, 300 of it's captives never woke up. Regrettably…She is one of them."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"That's the thing, sir. If you decide where to put me, I ask for temporary leave of duty to pursue ways to wake her and the rest up. Keep in mind that if you decide not to, I will still investigate leads, just on top of everything else."

"No, go ahead. You have…a week? Is that reasonable?"

"That's more than enough time, sir. I thank you for your consideration."

The scene faded to black as the younger me turned to leave, and I could feel Liz's hand wrap itself in mine.

(X)

After easily passing through a shadow knight, we entered a familiar scene. Me, sword-fighting Death Gun. "Why'd you do it?" asked Sinon.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"Why'd you fight him?"

"Well, Kirito died. Didn't have much of a choice."

"You could have shot me, and I could have shot you."

"Yeah, I could have. But that wouldn't have worked nearly as well."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you'll see it, but if not, I'll explain."

The giant bird that was the next boss didn't attack much, rather swooping around the area, dodging all ground attacks. That would have stopped our progress in it's tracks…except we had Sinon. She pumped the thing full of so many arrows, it looked like a porcupine. We opened the door, and it revealed me and the True Death Gun, Red-Eyed XaXa. But not how you'd think, on the battlefield. We were both in our real bodies, sitting in a police interrogation room. I needed information, and he had it. I turned to the one-way mirror. "Would you mind giving us some space?" I asked, playing the I've-been-mentally-scarred-for-life,-so-give-me-what-I-want card. It worked, and we were left alone. I disconnected the security camera, and I instantly went into interrogation mode.

"Alright look. You and I are not on the best of terms. You tried to kill me a few days ago, and you're in jail because you couldn't get your rocks off without killing someone from a video game. But, while the Templars are going to come after you, I could offer protection."

"Are you giving me carte blanche?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. It's more like I'm making sure you live out your life sentence, as apposed to waking up to a shank in a few weeks."

"So what do you want?"

"2 things. One, how do the Templars know where I live?"

He explained how they'd formed a network of civilian spies, and identified me by my conspicuous uniform. "One more thing. Where were you, on August 21st of this year?"

"On a rooftop. I guarded a prisoner." I remembered my heart sinking as I heard the words I hoped I wouldn't hear. I stood up. "Why?" he asked.

"Most professional hit-men have rules. One of the most popular is No Children. Evidently, you couldn't follow that rule."

"What about our deal?" he asked as I went to the door.

"I can protect you from the Templars. But if the Triads discover a certain someone broke up an arms deal a few months ago and stole some sniper rifles…Well, I wouldn't be able too do much."

"Are you crazy? They'll kill me!"

"That's the idea," I said, opening the door and leaving as the scene faded to black.

Sinon spat on the ground where XaXa once sat. "It's more than he deserved," she muttered.

"What did you mean, no children?" asked Liz. "What did he do?"

"I will answer any other question, as long as you let me keep that secret," I responded, pushing through the next doors.

(X)

The floating eye with lazer beams, yes you read that right, that was the 10th boss was weak to blunt weapons, so Liz took care of it in a heartbeat. "Only one more," said Sinon, pushing open the door.

"Yeah," said Liz, snorting, "and then the worst experiences of our lives. That'll be fun."

"Hey, it's got the best in there, as well," I said. "Can't be that…" I considered what was probably Sinon's worst experience, and the life I'd suffered. "Well…It can't be completely terrible." If I'd been talking about the one we were about to enter, I would have been wrong.

We came across a scene I'd only heard about, and never hoped I'd have to see. It was late at night, and a street lamp illuminated the gruesome scene before us. There were several bodies on the ground, some with bullet holes and some with stab wounds, but all lay dead or dying. I dropped the tomahawk that was still in my hand, rushing forward on my knees and trying to grasp one of the bodies, but the image passed through my fingers. "No," I said, my eyes widening in fear. "No! Not again!" I pounded the ground with my fist, my hand passing through her chest. "No!" A tear rolled down my cheek as I failed to reach my mother once again.

Liz placed her hand on my shoulder, and I felt it through the madness that was coming back to me. "It's okay-," she tried to say, but was interrupted when I rose quickly to my feet. I stared at her for a second, and I could tell she was expecting much of the same reaction I'd given the first time. In those eyes, I saw…I saw fear. She was afraid of me. Of what I might do. Instead, I rushed forward and embraced her.

"I'm sorry," I said, holding her tightly.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"I'm sorry I about the way I acted. You were just trying to help, and I wasn't being fair."

"It's okay."

"Does someone want to explain what's going on here?" asked Sinon.

"The one in the outfit with purple accents. It's…It's my mother," I said, not letting go of Liz.

"Ah. I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's…It's okay."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Authors Note: I'm stopping the whole younger me thing, and just telling it like Seth was experiencing it again, or in some cases for the first time. Hello to the people who've followed and favorited the story lately, welcome. Gonna finish this arc up in a quick chapter, then I will begin the research on the Alicazation arcs. In the meantime, I've got some stories from Hollow Fragment that are too cute or funny to not bring to you guys' attention.

I used my anger for more productive means of destruction this time, namely wiping the floor with the giant skeleton warrior that was the 11th boss. I turned to Yui before entering the door. "Yui, what order are these going to go in?" She shut her eyes, holding her hands to her temples.

"Sinon's first. Her best moment, then her worst. Then it's Lisbeth, her worst moment, then her best. And Seth…Seth's got two of each. One bad, one good, another bad, and the last good."

"That only makes 8. Even if there isn't one after the final boss, that's still missing one. What about the last one?"

"It's…It's too complicated. I can't see it."

"Wonderful." I pushed open the next door, revealing…Kirito, Asada, and I in the real world. We were sitting across the table from Kirito's government handler. He was holding an envelope, and had told us it was a message from Death Gun.

"'This isn't the end. You don't have the power to end it. You will be made to realize this soon. It's show time.' That is all there is," he said, placing the note back into his briefcase. The man left the café where the meeting had taken place, and the three of us left soon after.

"Um, Sinon?" asked Kirito.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you free after this?" he asked. She kind of tensed before answering.

"I don't really have any plans…"

"If he seems creepy, it's just because he doesn't know how to talk normally. We just want you to meet some friends of ours. Wanna come?" I asked, snaking a leg over my bike and straddling the seat. She hesitated before nodding. "Great. Wanna ride with him or me?" She kind of smiled before walking up to me. "We'll meet you at the Dicey Café, then?" I asked Kirito.

"I think I'll be meeting you there," he said, subtly implying that he'd beat me in a race.

"C'mon, Asada." She climbed on the bike, and I handed her a helmet before pulling on my own. I flipped the kickstand, and pulled the accelerator. Her arms wrapped around my waist hurriedly, and I chuckled before accelerating to "cruising speed." "Are you okay?" I asked through the radio up-link in the helmet. She seemed startled at hearing my voice before she responded.

"What do you mean?"

"You seemed really nervous back there, and you still seem really tense."

"I'm…I'm just worried that Death Gun might come back."

"Don't worry about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll be paying him a visit in jail in a few days. I promise you he will never leave that prison."

"Are you going to…"

"No. I'll just make sure he lives out his punishment." We pulled up the the Café, flipping out my kickstand as Kirito pulled up.

"Is this where you wanted to take me?" she asked.

"Yeah. They're inside." We opened the door, and Rika yelled jokingly at me from the bar.

"You're late," she complained. "While I was waiting, I ate two pieces of apple pie. If I get fat, it's your fault."

"Hello to you too," I said, stepping in.

"Introduce us, Seth," said Rika.

"Right…This is the third champion of Gun Gale Online, Sinon or Asada Shino."

"S-Stop it," she stuttered. "We're co-champions anyway."

"Well, these are some of our friends from SAO. Lisbeth, or Shinozaki Rika, the rip-off blacksmith," I said jokingly. She instantly put on a shocked face, and lunged at me with a fist.

"What did you say?" she yelled threateningly. I sidestepped, tripping her, catching her before she hit the ground, and getting close, all in a matter of seconds.

"I said, rip-off blacksmith," I said, grinning and drawing out the words.

"And that's the berserk healer, Asuna, or Yuuki Asuna," said Kirito.

"Th-That's mean…" she stuttered back. Rika rubbed the back of her head before grinning back at me, and I released her.

"Anyway, take a seat," I said, gesturing at a table. I grabbed some drinks from Agil, and gave everyone one before taking a seat myself.

"Sterben…It wasn't Steven, was it?" asked Asada.

"No. Sterben is a German term used in hospitals for 'Death,'" I said, dropping into my chair.

"I wonder what he was thinking when he named himself that," she said.

"It's better not to look for more meaning than there is in a name," said Asuna. "You'll lose sight of a lot more than you notice."

"Ooh, pretty smart," said Rika. "Coming from someone who uses their real name for their character, it sounds persuasive." Asuna bumped Rika's arm with her elbow, and nearly spilled her drink. "Jeez," she said.

"Don't say that!" said Asuna.

"Sorry, sorry!" she responded hurriedly. Rika placed her hands together as the attention turned back to Asada. "Anyway, I'm happy to meet a female VRMMO player in real life."

"Yeah," said Asuna. "Please be our friend, Asada."

Asada lowered her head, and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. She rose from the table and ran out the back door. "Was it something we said?" asked Rika.

"I'll go get her," I said, getting out of my chair. I exited through the back of the shop, revealing an empty square alley. It was cut off at all sides by walls and other shops pressed against it, and all other doors were locked. My brain clicked as I tried to figure out where she was hiding.

'She's a sniper. When she's threatened, she'll retreat to a comfortable position. A high-up place, with lots of cover and visibility. The roof,' I thought, noticing a fallen lader. I climbed up the side of the building, and found her sitting on the roof, her knees curled to her chest.

"You okay?" I asked. She jumped a little when she heard me, then turned her eyes back outward.

"I'm okay."

"You going to come back inside?"

"Yeah…I just need a minute."

"Alright," I said, walking across the roof and sitting down next to her. "Then I'll wait with you." We sat there in silence for a minute, before she spoke.

"I'm sorry for running. It's just…since that time, everyone who claimed to be my friend was just pretending, or, like those girls, using me. I just…need some time to adjust."

"That's fine," I said. "You should have seen Kirito dragging me to one of Asuna's post-boss parties for the first time. It was awkward as hell," I said, chuckling. She kind of smiled.

"In that cave, in GGO, I told you to protect me for the rest of my life. I said it out of anger and fear, half expecting you to leave. But…You nodded. Why?"

"I protect my family." She kind of scoffed into her scarf.

"I have no family. It's just my mom, and I don't even see her much any more."

"Oh, come on. A couple of life or death situations together? We're family."

"Do you have a…real family?"

"I have a mom. But I haven't seen her in a year. But I also have Rika. And Kirito, Asuna, a bunch of others I hope you'll meet later. And now I've got you. And I will protect my family for as long as I draw breath."

"Do you have anything else to say to me, besides your little family invitation?"

"Yeah, actually. If you'll come back to the bar, I'll show you." She hesitated, and then nodded. I stood and offered my hand, which she took, and I lightly pulled her to her feet.

"Umm…how are we going to get down?" she asked. I glanced over the edge.

"Ah. That…is a very good question. Tell you what, I'll climb down, then set the ladder back up."

"Why didn't you just use the ladder in the first place?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Force of habit?" I suggested.

"Wait, if I climb down while you're on the ground, won't you see my…" I noticed she absentmindedly tapping the hem of her skirt.

"I promise I won't look," I said, turning back to the edge. She grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. She crossed her arms in front of me.

"I don't trust you," she said, smiling slightly and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, what do you suggest?" I asked. She raised the front of her hand to her face, tapping slightly at her lip. She glanced to my sides, then motioning for me to turn back around. I did so, puzzled, and was surprised to hear her backing up on the shingled roof. "What are you do-?" I began to ask, but she cut off my question by running forward and leaping onto my back. I stumbled forward, stopping myself before we toppled off the roof. I spun around in place, trying to force some of her face into my vision. "You could have killed us!" I shouted. She giggled.

"I thought you protected your family," she said. "Now climb down."

"So you trust me to climb down with you on my back, and catch us before we fall off the roof, but not to not look up your skirt?" I mumbled as I slowly climbed down the side of the building.

"Pretty much," she said, leaning forward. I dropped the remaining few feet, doing my best to absorb the shock with my knees. "Don't look," she said, hopping off my back.

"Whatever." She went through the correct door, and I followed behind her, taking my place back at the table as she sat down.

"I apologize," said Asada, bowing slightly. "That was rude of me. Now, Seth said you all had something to show me?" I hesitated.

"First of all, Asada, I'm sorry. To get them here, I had to tell Liz and Asuna about what happened to you. We tracked down the place where you used to live, and we went there." She had tensed after every sentence, and now her eyes were again filling with tears.

"Why did you…" She tried to stand up again, but my hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.

"You hadn't met the people you needed to meet. Or heard the things that you needed to hear. This may hurt you, and if so, I'm sorry. But I couldn't just ignore this."

"Ther people I needed to meet?" she echoed disbelievingly. "The things I needed to hear?" I nodded to Rika, who opened a side door in the shop. Out of it stepped a woman and a small child. They took places at the table as I let go of Asada's wrist. She slowly sat back down. The woman bowed her head low, and the child took notice, mimicking her, but it was short lived before she rose her head again. "Um, who are you?" Asada asked. The woman raised her head.

"Hello. You're Asada Shino, right? My name is Oosawa Sachie. This," she said, turning to the child, "is Mizue. She's four. Before she was born, I worked at the post office." Asada's eyes widened. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Shino. I should have come to see you earlier. I never apologized," she said, wiping away a tear. "Or thanked you." The child was watching her mother with earnest, and a smile split across her face as her mother placed a hand on her head. When it happened, I was pregnant with her. So, Shino, you not only saved my life, but hers as well. Thank you…Thank you so much. Thank you." She bowed so low, her hair nearly dipped into a drink still at the table. The child took notice, bending down and nearly hitting her head on the table.

"Saved your life?" Asada muttered. Kirito and I stood from the table.

"You always blamed yourself," I said. "You've tried to punish yourself. I'm not going to say that was wrong. But at the same time, you have the right to think about the lives you saved that day. You have the right to think about them and forgive yourself." I had to contain a smile as the child hopped down from the chair and approached Asada.

She took a folded piece of paper from her yellow bag, and handed it to Asada with a large smile. It was a drawing. On the top were the words 'To Shino-oneesan.' I included the honorific because I couldn't bring myself not to. It means 'Big sister.'

The actual drawing was of the sun, an apple tree, and colored scribbles in the shapes of a small girl, an older woman, and a figure with glasses holding hands with the older woman. It was then that I let my smile show through. Asada's tears dripped onto the drawing, and the younger girl held her hands out. Asada hesitated, before taking the smaller hands in hers. The scene faded to black. I glanced around. Liz had a huge smile on her face, and Sinon was smiling, a small tear running down her cheek. She noticed it, and wiped it off her face with the back of her hand. "Let's move on then?" Sinon suggested.

The next boss was a hydra type thing that continuously attacked with it's three heads. It was a bitch, but once Liz and Sinon distracted it, I was able to sneak around and devastate it's rear side. Liz was stretching her arms exaggeratedly. "You're going to owe me a shoulder massage when we get back," she said to me.

"Oh, please. You'll settle for some popcorn and a movie in that theater simulation, and we both know it," I said jokingly.

"Very true!" she shouted. We both turned to see Sinon had hesitated in the process of opening the door. "Sinon?" Liz asked.

"I know what's behind this door. I kind of hoped it would skip me, but…"

"If you want to wait a bit before going or something, that's fine," I said.

"No. I need to do this." I waited for her to open the door, but it didn't move.

"Sinon, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah…Could you two help me?" I smiled kindly, and Liz and I got on either side and pushed open the door slowly. But we weren't met with a cutscene. It was a white arch, just like the one that brought us here. "What is…" Sinon reached out to touch it, and everything blurred as we moved from a black void to an interior in a fraction of an instant.

I opened my eyes, and the three of us were crouched slightly in a shop of some kind, a gun-wielding guy pointing a gun at the front. Two things popped through my head. One, We're not watching this, we're living it. Two, Protect. I lunged forward, keeping low and sweeping the legs out from under the guy. He managed to fire a bullet into the ceiling before the gun flew out of his grip. I rose and caught it, slamming my foot down on his chest, pinning him to the floor. I unloaded the gun, checking it for bullets. 6, judging from the slit down the side of the magazine. I loaded it again, pointing it at his knee. "You move, I put one in your kneecap. Do you understand?"

Sinon and Liz rose slowly to their feet. Liz walked up to the guy, staring him down. He didn't seem to notice any of us, and began clawing at my feet, trying to get it off of him. "It's like he can't even see you," she said, noticing the vacant look in his eye. "Try shooting him."

"What?"

"It's a program, it won't do any harm. Just try it." I shrugged, and squeezed the trigger. The gun fired into the man's leg, not even phasing him as he continued grabbing wildly at my leg. "Let me try," she said, and I handed over the gun, pressing harder against the man to stop his wild attempts to free himself. She pointed the gun at his chest with one hand, and closed one of her eyes like Kirito did in GGO the first time.

"Hold it with both hands, and keep your eyes open." She gave me a strange look.

"You're giving me trigger discipline now?" she asked incredulously. She shook her head and looked back down, firing the gun.

The recoil launched her arm up, and the bullet almost went wild, but it pounded into his gut. He didn't react, still staring into space wildly. Suddenly, one of his wild kicks hit my other leg, and I fell expectantly onto my back. He rose over me, and Liz tried to put two more bullets into his back, but he didn't even stop. Suddenly, Sinon rushed forward, grabbing the gun out of Liz's hand, and calmly fired into the back of the man's head. He toppled onto me, blood pouring from both parts of the wound. I easily shrugged the man's body off of me as the scene flickered, then disappeared. I looked warily at Sinon, who still seemed calm. "What?" she asked.

"You okay?"

"Fine. I did what I had to do."

"Well…Thank you."

"I would have had to do that sooner or later."

"How do you figure?"

"Didn't you see it? He shrugged off the bullets you two fired. The system made it so only bullets fired by me would hurt his AI. I had to shoot him, or he would have just kept coming. It tried to make me freak out like I did the first time."

"Why didn't you?"

"I met the people I needed to meet, and heard the things I needed to hear."

"Observant. Good job."

"Thanks."

(X)

The next boss was a water temple type thing with a shark as a boss. I barely had time to cast Water Breathing on the three of us before we were attacked, and Sinon had to use her close-combat dagger for once. We took it down, but I had to use lightning magic, which was not the wisest move while underwater. We were all damaged, but the boss took the brunt of it, and exploded into polygons. Liz seemed nervous as the water drained, and we approached the door. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, just…You know."

"Yeah. Do you know what it is?"

"Not a clue. I'm kind of curious, and I also don't want to know."

"I can understand that." She smiled slightly, and we pushed open the door.

It revealed a small party of 6 avatars, wandering through a dungeon. Liz's eyes widened, and…so did mine. "No," she whispered. "Not this." Her hand shot to mine and squeezed tightly.

"Apparently," said Sinon. "What is it?"

"It's…uh…It's the reason I became a blacksmith…Or a merchant in general, compared to a soldier. About a week before the first Floor boss was discovered, I joined some friends I'd made for a dungeon raid."

"What happened?" Sinon asked.

"You're about to see."

We watched as the party slowly advanced through the cave, and a creature slowly descended above them when they stopped for potions. The spider lowered on its thread of web, and then dropped. It slammed into the center of the group, effortlessly spearing two of the members with it's legs. The two attacked ones shattered instantly. It spun, sweeping the legs of three more of it's members and knocking them to the floor. It fired some of it's web at the last retreating member, tackling them to the ground. It stabbed two of it's legs into some of the downed members, and flung the other one up, and caught it in it's mouth…You could hear the kids screams as the mob devoured it, and you could see his HP quickly draining. The spider looked puzzled for a second as to why its food disappeared, before moving to its webbed victim. Liz's hand clung to mine as the mob looked at its next victim. It cocked its head/body as it looked at its webbed victim, when there was a shout.

There was a blur of white that shot forward from the shadows, quickly sliding under the spider and flipping it over from a kick from under it. Liz cocked her head. "I knew I was cut out, but…I didn't know anyone fought that thing." The avatar leaped forward, still a blur of white, stabbing at the underbelly of the spider. "Is that…?" she asked, leaning forward. I lowered my head, waiting for her to recognize the tomahawk.

I jumped off the belly of the flailing spider, grabbing one of its reaching legs and pulling, flipping the thing back onto its feet. It tried to spin, but I cut off the bit I'd grabbed with my tomahawk, and it tipped onto it's stub of a leg. I leapt onto it's head, dashing my blade onto its face, and it shattered. My avatar flipped up the hood that had fallen during the battle, and went to the webbed victim. It reached out to get a grip, but the person squirmed to the touch. "Easy," I said, lowering my voice to a gravel. "Spider's gone. I'm gonna get you out, alright?" There was a nod at one end, and I cut the victim out, activating my hiding skill before the victim raised their head. A small built woman with hair that was still its real brown raised her head, looking around for her rescuer. But I was already gone.

The scene faded to black as Liz turned to me. "You…" she said, her eyes staring wide at me. I widened my arms.

"Me." Her legs failed her and I rushed forward, catching her and lowering her to the floor. "You okay?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know, to be honest. I didn't stick around." I looked back up as the lights came back on, revealing a staggering Liz, glancing around the town of Beginnings. She found an NPC blacksmith giving lessons to a few others and quickly warmed up to those around her as the scene faded to black for real. I stood back up and pulled Liz to her feet. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready."

(X)

The next boss, coincidence or not, was a giant spider. Liz went crazy on it. We just sat back and enjoyed the show. She smashed her mace into every joint on half it's legs, paralyzing the beast before she smashed the mace repeatedly on the creature's head. When it shattered, she turned around, breathing heavily, and gave a thumbs up and a grin.

The next cutscene takes some explaining. Agil approached me about a Battle of the Bands he was having, sponsored and set up by his café as a way to raise money. It was about August, and I was puzzled about why he was talking to me about this. Until he mentioned a bet that he'd made. He'd bet a friend that a certain band would win, and was confident in his decision until the lead singer lost her voice, and the guitarist broke his hand. I knew where this was going, and was this close to telling him to ask Kirito, when he told me he'd already tried Kirito, but he didn't know how to play guitar. The bet was for about 119,060 yen. One thousand dollars. I gave in when he told me he'd take Sweet Tea off the menu if I didn't help. I bribed Rika into being the singer with a weeks worth of pumpkin seeds. We practiced with the band for a week, and they were really cool. It's a good thing a lot of my relived lives practiced guitar, or I never would have learned the song in time. Anyway, the cut-scene showed up on the night of the performance.

(PUTTING THE LINK TO THE SONG BY AMANDA LEE HERE, BECAUSE SOME OF THE DESCRIPTIONS DON'T MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE SONG, AND YOU WILL PROBABLY APPRECIATE THIS MORE IF YOU'RE LISTENING TO IT. PLUS ITS REALLY GOOD. ENJOY. AND TO THE FOOLISH AMONG YOU WHO THOUGHT I ACTUALLY WROTE A SONG, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. watch?v=rBXz0hO8C1g)

We'd tuned our instruments, and were ready to go. Rika tapped the mic, making sure it worked before we began. I let out a weird whistle into my mic, before the piano guy started playing. Rika started.

"Hands up high. Raise them high

And cast your worries to the sky

There's no doubt Not one doubt

As I make my wish and let it cry out."

We knew with our minimum practice we wouldn't stand a chance just performing the song they'd written. So…we decided to tell a story.

"If I gathered all the love in my heart

That grows with every passing day

I would find a confusing puzzle that changes and rearranges

Will I ever find my place? I'm not sure

Or will I ever feel insecure?"

While she was singing, she kept her eyes riveted on me, mixes between grins and sad looks dancing across her face.

"And the moment all the questions fade I notice my tears

But can't hold them back

Maybe it's too late I've lost my chance

All of my questions shall go unanswered

Will I keep fighting to find the light, or will I descend to a bitter end?" She turned back to the crowd, and I joined her for the chorus.

"Hands up high, Raise them high

And cast your worries to the sky

If you can't stand then take my hand

And I will rise to fight by your side

My beating heart is burning on

And as it races I realize

There's no doubt Not one doubt

As I make my wish and let it cry out."

I went back to just playing the guitar as Rika started again.

"I have always danced to my own beat

But you always throw me out of sync

'Cause around you I am holding back, and I'm mastering a fake brave smile

Maybe it's too late I've lost to my dreams." I stopped pretending to talk and walked across the stage, still playing. We looked at each other as she continued.

"All of my wishes come true only here

If I wake up now I'll lose this moment

I fear my dreams will fade around me…" There was a lull in the noise as I turned back to the mic to back her up on the chorus. I had to admit, she was a natural at this.

"I'm so close yet so far

I can't reach out to where you are

I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul

But some things are not in our control

Your hand's not meant for me to hold," ('The hell it's not,' I remembered thinking as I sang that.)

"And I'll be lonely when you're gone

I'm aware so aware

Only through my memories you'll be there." I stopped backing her up as we walked across the stage, meeting and facing each other in the middle.

"It's not the destiny that I've dreamed of," she sang relatively softly, glancing off to the side like 'Oh well.' I slowly took a step towards her.

"And as I cry I know this is goodbye," she sang, looking back into my eyes, a sad look in her eye.

"How can I ever reach you, when I can't even see the sky?" The last part turned breathy as my guitar solo took over, and our lips met. The story telling had been subtle, but the crowd went WILD. I somehow managed to hit the notes, and our lips split just before we had to pick back up for the final chorus.

"Hands up high Raise them high

And cast your worries to the sky

If you can't stand then take my hand

And I will rise to fight by your side

My beating heart is burning on

And as it races I realize

There's no doubt, not one doubt

As I make my wish and let I cry out!" The scene faded to black as the crowd went nuts.

(X)

I flipped back, lunging forward when I regained my footing, dashing my blades into the skin of the next boss. It was…how do I put this? According to Liz and Sinon, it was a demon type boss. But it must have some illusion magic, because the second I targeted it, there was a puff of smoke…and there was a barely clothed woman in its place. Understandably, I was initially confused. Eventually, after some coersion from Liz and Sinon, I began attacking the woman, who instantly turned back into the demon, whose ass we began kicking. After destroying it with the Mortal Draw, we walked through the door. I was nervous about what I'd see, but I clenched my jaw and stepped through the arch.

We looked upon a scene that was…less visually traumatizing than the other two had been. It was me, mercilessly wailing away at a punching bag at the gym in the basement of the Bureau. "What am I seeing?" asked Sinon, leaning in slightly.

"It's…um…It's me. It was the day after I came to Japan, and I needed to kill time before Leafa, Kirito and I went back to ALO and continued looking for…Liz and Asuna. I'd been constantly moving since discovering Rika in the hospital, never doting on the facts. This was the first time I allowed myself to think about what would happen."

Slightly transparent images of ALO, the plane ride, my recuperation, and Liz's avatar from SAO flashed up every few seconds, staying for a moment before fading away, representing my thoughts. With every vision, I punched harder and harder, my rage increasing with every second I let myself think. A few seconds later, the image of Rika on a bed, NerveGear on her head, flashed up, and I slammed my fist into the bag, knocking the anchor from the ceiling. I spared glance up at the ceiling before exiting the gym, and the scene faded to black.

I turned to the door. "Yeah. It wasn't a good day."

(X)

The next boss was supposed to be impossible to hit, turning invisible after slamming it's sword into you. But with Eagle Vision, it never disappeared. We entered the door, and it revealed my Assassin Ceremony. I recited the Assassin's Creed in the traditional Latin, got my finger scarred by a red hot ring, and performed my ritualistic Leap of Faith. It was the day all my training came together, and definitely one of the best of my life.

The next one was a giant ant. Not even kidding. The 17th boss was a giant ant. Seriously disappointing. I stepped through the next door, thinking I was ready for anything. I wasn't. We appeared on a sidewalk, following…

"Oh, no," I said. "Not here. Not today."

"What is it?" Yui asked.

"Get in my pocket, Yui."

"No! I've spent half of today in somebody's pocket!"

"There's a very good reason! Get in my pocket!" A slightly crouched me appeared, glancing around. "Look up, you moron," I muttered. "Yui, get in my pocket!"

"No," she said, crossing her arms and floating out of arms reach.

"Yui, so help me God, get in my pocket."

"You're an atheist," she retorted.

"Get in the freaking pocket!" Liz spun me around.

"Why are you being so rude? What's going to happen?"

I hesitated, before deciding. They were going to see it anyway. The crouching me turned, gesturing to the alley behind him, and a young boy, around 8, walked slowly out of it. I pointed at the kid, whispering hurriedly. "You see that kid? In about," I turned and checked the watch on the vision of me's wrist, "1 and a half minutes, I'm going to get shot, and…so is he."

The visions crouched low as they moved across the parking lot, heading for my bike at an adjacent lot. "Yui, get in his pocket," said Liz sharply. Sinon nodded in agreement, and Yui reluctantly floated back down and crawled into my coat pocket. "Why are you with a kid?" she asked.

"Friend of an informant got her kid kidnapped by the Triads for blackmail. I approached them, and convinced them there was a arms deal going down between the cops and a rival gang across town, and it would be best for them to go and take them both out. While most of them pissed off, I went in, took out the few guards that they left, and grabbed the kid. I was making my retreat, when…Our friend Death Gun did his job." There was a crack, and a bullet grazed my left shoulder, nipping the bone and burning a hole through my cloak as it traveled on it's lethal path. I hit the deck, crouching behind a car and hurriedly telling the kid to do the same. The boy broke into a sprint to my position…and was stopped when a bullet pounded into his forehead. He launched onto his back, killed instantly, and I just crouched there, not accepting what I'd seen. The scene faded to black, the empty look still in my eyes.

I stared at the scene as if it was still there, my mouth clenched shut, and my fists balled so badly it hurt. Liz rubbed my shoulder, trying to look into my eyes. "What was his name?" she asked softly.

"Katzumi. Shimon Katzumi. At least I learned that."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it was. If I'd done better recon-"

"Don't give me that! You did all you could, and the fact that you fooled the fucking triads is proof that you tried your best! You couldn't have known!"

"There's no way you could have seen a sniper of his caliber **(No pun intended)**," said Sinon. "It's not your fault."

"You can't change the past. You can't go back and save that kid. And I'm sorry for that," said Liz. "But if you beat yourself up forever, you won't be up to saving more people."

"More?" I scoffed. "Who could I save?"

"Me," said Liz. "You helped Kirito wake Asuna and me up. That also brings up Asuna and 298 others. That girl you were stalking in SAO."

"Me," said Sinon. "You defeated Death Gun, in the game and real life. If you hadn't been there…I wouldn't be here."

"I fight so that people are free to make a choice," I said. "And I HAVE to believe that people will make the right choice, when given the opportunity. Most of the time, that's all there is to it. But with some people…"

"There's going to be psychos in the world," said Liz. "But you can't use them to judge all people. Because that sounds like something the Templars would do."

(X)

Despite Sinon and Liz eventually calming me down, I still went blind with rage when it came time to fight the 18th boss. I still had the anger bubbling inside of me, and needed to channel it. The golum that attacked us was a good way to do that. The cut-scene revealed me, sitting on a stool, guitar in hand. I smiled slightly as I recognized it.

We were still at the Battle of the Bands thing, but at the end, we'd tied with scores with another band. Somehow, they decided that the best way to break the tie was have a solo piece from one of the performers from each band. I began to pluck the strings softly, before beginning the song.

(Another song, not by me. watch?v=hOpK1Euwu5U)

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've

forgive my mistakes.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming."

The song started off soft, the strings barely moving, and the words echoing softly over the crowd. I looked up as the song began to pick up for the first verse.

"And my, my hands. They wanna learn to fly.

And if you could would you, breathe and help me try.

I've severed all these ties,

I'm bound to sail alone.

Oh I know it's not wise, but I'm ready to go home.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've

forgive my mistakes.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming."

Where the first chorus had been soft, this one was loud and determined.

"Trapped inside this cage I'm living in.

My wings hide, my palms are worn and thin.

But if you set me free, don't live and let me be,

I'll return back to you, 'cause my real home needs me too.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've

forgive my mistakes.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming.

I need to believe in my sense of mind.

I must leave, cause my heart is screaming all the time.

I won't wander or roam. I know where I'll go.

My dream, is my home."

After the loud exit of the last verse, the last chorus was slow and soft again. My eyes skimmed the crowd, passing over Kirito, Asuna, Sugu, Silica, Agil, Klein. And they came to rest on Rika.

"I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away, all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits, and they've

forgive my mistakes.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming."

The crowd erupted into cheers as the scene, maybe for the last time, faded to black.

"We won, that day," I said to Sinon. "In case you care."

"I wasn't going to ask," she replied, smiling.

We turned to the door, and pushed it open, revealing another white gate. "I'm starting to hate these things," I said, reaching out to touch it.

(X)

I spawned, in normal street clothes, on a sidewalk. "The hell…?" I muttered, glancing around. Yui came out, in her full child form, wearing…oh no. "Yui, get down!" She instantly crouched down low, and I gestured her over to where I was hiding behind a car.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"You're wearing his clothes. The Cardinal Program is giving me another chance."

"Whose clothes? A chance to do what?"

"A chance to save Shimon Katzumi." I checked my arsenal. I had my standard Hidden Blade, and some experimental technology we'd been working on back in August. They were now standard issue, and DAMN they were awesome. I had some in ALO as well. The Hidden Sword, or as they were called in ALO, the Anubis Blade. Essentially, you activate the thing, and the handle swings down from the arm brace, the blade sliding out of the handle as it falls into your palm. (Regrettibly, not my idea, but on the upside, you can see it in action here: watch?v=eXoAa0_63iQ)

"Death Gun is going to take some shots at us. I don't know how a bullet will affect your programming, so just stay down, you understand? Do not move." She hurriedly nodded her head, curling her knees up to her chest. I reached out, touching her shoulder. She looked back up into my face. "It's going to be okay, Yui. I'll get us out of this." She smiled. I stood up from behind the car. I shut my eyes. And I waited.

Eagle Vision isn't exactly a vision. It's more like using all the senses at once, being able to feel sounds, hear colors, and see textures. So now, I waited. I activated my hearing, picking up Yui's hitched breathing, the passing of pedestrians a few hundred meters away. And finally, the steady breathing of a trained sniper. And then then the click of a trigger. I ducked back right, and the bullet that should have pounded into my shoulder hit the pavement. I activated the Anubis blade, and the sword fell into my palm. 'C'mon, Seth. Channel your inner…Kirito, I guess.' I swung the blade up…and caught the next bullet with the sword, deflecting it into the air. I swiped right, blocking the last bullet. Then I heard a click. He was out. My turn.

I dashed across the parking lot, this time having my agility stat to back me up, dashing up the side of the building. I leapt onto the roof, swinging my sword through the barrel of the rifle. I jumped forward, knocking Death Gun over. "I've got you this time," I said, and he…he laughed.

"You can't end it. It'll never be over."

"The hell I can't," I said, swinging the sword down onto his head. There was a flash of light…and we were back. Liz and Sinon were standing over me, and Yui had appeared not too far away. She walked over, as I stood up. I noticed the Anubis blade was still in my hand, so I released the clasp, and the blade slid back into my handle. I fitted it to my arm. I tried to unequip it in favor of my tomahawk, but decided against it. I'd mastered one-handed swords a few days ago, something I'd started out of boredom and necessity, and it had a longer reach anyway. I'd use it, for now at least.

"I might have to borrow one of those," said Sinon. "Be a good backup weapon." Yui joined us, shutting her eyes, still full child size.

"I think that was the 19th boss," she said, opening her eyes.

"Well, joy," I said, turning to the final door. "Let's finish this."

We opened the door…and were confronted by a potted plant. "Um…" said Liz, slightly poking it with her mace. "Is this supposed to be threatening?" Suddenly, it grew.

Vines sprouted from the dirt, curling into a giant plant man, 14 feet tall, along with a full size tree as a weapon. I activated my hidden blade and stabbed it into it's leg, but the health bar didn't even go down. I jumped back as it swung it's axe at me. "It's resistant to physical attacks," I shouted. "Use Magic Sword Skills. Liz, fire, ice, and electricity skills! Sinon, as many explosive arrows as you can get off!" They both nodded, springing forward. But as Liz slammed her mace into the things leg, I cut up it's chest, and Sinon's arrows pounded into it's forehead, it didn't target any of us.

It went after Yui.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

**Authors Note: Such a cliffhanger, and no reviews? I'm kind of shocked, but at this point I almost expect it.**

The thing swung it's tree of a club down at Yui, who shrieked and dived under it. "Yui!" I shouted. "Get out of your kid form! Go back to fairy, and hide!"

"It takes time," she screamed. "I'll get hit!"

"Fuck," I muttered. I had to get the thing's attention. I jumped onto it's face, stabbing at what I guessed to be it's eyes. "C'mon, bitch!" I shouted. "Your mother was an cactus, and your father was a mushroom! Hit me!" It raised it's club high, and I sighed in relief, preparing to dive to the left. But it didn't attack me. It slammed the club down onto Yui's head. She paused, a shocked look on her face, before falling onto her back.

"Yui!" shouted Liz. That did it.

"Sinon! I need 10 seconds! Liz, check on Yui!" I shouted, jumping back and quickly flipping through my menu. I unequipped my hidden blade and strapped another harness to my forearm. Another tap, and my tomahawk was at my belt. Sinon was given the same treatment as Yui, the club slamming down onto her head, decimating her health. She faltered, staggering back as I jumped forward.

"Let's finish this," I muttered. I flicked my wrist back, and the sword slid into my hand.

Last time, I said that I mastered One-handed swords out of boredom and necessity. The boredom part is fairly obvious, but the necessity…Kirito approached me, practically demanding that he teach me something in return for the strength training. I kept trying to brush it off, but he's persistent, to say the least. I eventually decided. I wanted him to teach me skill chaining.

Skill chaining, essentially, is all about timing. It's extremely tricky, but once you get it down…Damn.

I lunged forward, carried close by Vorpal Strike, a devastating stab pummeling into it's gut. I spun, my left arm held in place by the system. I spun, driving my tomahawk into it's leg, and pulling, the fire spell attached to the skill doing most of the damage. My sword had recovered from Vorpal Strike, and dived forward, slicing an asterisk onto it's back before stabbing into the center of the symbol. I jumped up onto its back, slamming my tomahawk into it's forehead. I moved my legs onto its back, pulling its head back and using my feet as leverage.

The thing tried to grab at me, but exploding arrows blew its arms off before it could grab me. Sinon was back.

I stabbed my sword into its eyes, then into its throat. It's health points reached zero, and the thing exploded. I fell down onto my feet, quickly sheathing my weapons. I ran over to Liz, who was crouched over Yui.

"Yui!" I shouted. Liz whipped her head around, noting the boss' disappearance, before turning back to Yui.

"She's not moving…" she said.

"She doesn't have HP. She can't be hurt…Significant trauma to her input sensors, maybe?"

"How do you fix that?"

"If I could force a reboot…" I said. I noticed a small string around her neck, and pulled a necklace from inside her shirt. On the string was a small, blue, tear-shaped gem. The same one Kirito used to bring her to ALO in the first place. I tapped it, and Yui glowed. The light shut off, and her eyes flew open. She smiled, then laughed and lunged up and forward. I was startled, but relaxed when I realized that she'd flung her arms around my neck, and was hugging me.

"Thank you, Seth."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, if your dad knew, he'd kill me." She laughed, and we all glowed slightly. "What the-" I was cut off when we all teleported.

I appeared in an empty black void. I spun around, looking for something, and identified a lab coat wearing man with glasses, with short hair and sharp features. I began walking towards him, and we met in the middle of nowhere. "You may remember me, Corsi," said the man, pushing his glasses higher onto his face.

"You may have to remind me."

He smiled sadly. "I am Kayaba Akihiko." The name, surprisingly, inspired little emotion.

"I hope you don't expect a medal for what you did. Where am I? What is this?"

"This? This is the quest reward."

"Where are my friends?"

"Well, Lisbeth is getting some Ultra-rare ores and a map to find more. Sinon is getting a slightly better bow-string and a self reloading quiver. The one you call Yui has been teleported out of the dungeon, where the three of you will join her soon."

"And what do you have planned for me?"

"I simply wanted to talk to you."

"What? No reward for me?"

He smiled slightly, and opened an interface. I got an alert that he'd opened a trade menu, and sent me a few items. I'd just meant it as a joke, but I wasn't complaining. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said.

"So Kirito was right. You really did upload yourself." He nodded slightly. "Well, even if you're still a Templar after what you saw in SAO, I can't do much to you while you're data." He smiled a small smile.

"Templar…" he muttered. "It's been more than a year since anyone called me that."

"Maybe because you've been in virtual isolation."

"Or maybe because I was banished from the Templar order a week before the game was cleared."

"Really? What'd you do?"

"I did nothing. A man with blue and green eyes, who was higher up on the totem pole than I, claimed to know that I was a traitor, and that they should kill me. Couple that with a few major screw-ups the previous month, and they resolved to banish me."

"Blue and green eyes?"

"Indeed. Is that important?"

"It may be."

"…"

"…"

"If you care, you would have gotten dual wielding if Kirito hadn't been there."

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better. Look, as much as I've enjoyed talking to you, I make it a point not to spend time around people who tried to kill me."

He smiled again. "I didn't kill you. I simply trapped you in SAO."

"Semantics. Do you remember why you did it, or was it just for shits and giggles?"

"Just after SAO, a friend of yours asked me that. At the time, I couldn't recall. But after being given time to think…I wanted control. Watching people live lives in a world you created…It makes you feel so powerful."

"That's about normal for a Templar." He smiled, and the void glowed.

"Goodbye, Corsi. I hope you've learned the lesson I intended when I designed this quest."

"And what's that?"

"Your friends. They know what you've done, how much you've suffered. You're a hero now, so of course everyone loves you. But never forget about the one who loved you more than her own life, when you thought no one could care about you." It was my turn to smile.

"I won't. Goodbye, Kayaba."

"Goodbye, Corsi."

The room flashed, and I was standing back on the floating platforms, with Yui, Liz, and Sinon. "Seth!" Liz shouted. "What happened?"

"I…uh…I talked with an old friend." I looked around. Night had fallen, and the moon was hanging high in the sky. "Let's go home, guys."

**Authors Note: AND WE'RE DONE! Bunch of random Hollow Fragment convos/scenarios as filler until I finish researching Alacazation.**


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